Jordy Bellerive

April 2020 – Bellerive had a slow start to the season mostly playing a bottom-six role, while also serving as a healthy scratch for a few games. He struggled to get points, but as the year went on he progressively started showcasing his skill. In the last 26 games, before the pause on the season, Bellerive put up 10 goals and six assists for 16 points. Bellerive ended up finishing his first pro year with 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points in 53 games. If he wants a chance at cracking the NHL next year, he needs to work on making his two-way game more complete. Clare McManus

January 2020 – Bellerive is struggling in his first pro campaign with only three goals and 11 assists in 33 appearances for Wilkes/Barre-Scranton. Minus-8 and a 6.4 shooting percentage don’t help. The combative former WHL star might still be feeling the effects of hands that were badly burned in a campfire mishap in the off-season. However, he’s only 20, is known for his determination and has two more seasons on his rookie contract. Mark Allan

September – Bellerive was sent to Wilkes-Barre-Scranton as part of Pittsburgh’s first cuts at training camp. It will be interesting to see how the combative yet skilled center handles the huge jump from junior to pro. Mark Allan

May 2019 – The 5-11, 194-pounder fell just nine points short of the 92 he posted the season before, in three fewer WHL games. Bellerive finished with 33 goals (down from 46) and 50 assists (up by four). His plus/minus of plus-27 was a dramatic improvement from minus-2. Possibly due to his injuries, his transformation to playmaker continued in the playoffs as he scored twice and added six helpers as the Hurricanes were eliminated in the first round. After two previous campaigns with more than 80 PIM apiece, he had 59. Adding 10 in the playoffs of his junior swan song hinted the feisty center has no intention of abandoning his agitating ways altogether. The 19-year-old has time left on his entry-level deal and he will undoubtedly make his pro début this fall in the AHL. Mark Allan

March 2019 – Has badly burning his upper body, including his hands, in a freak accident June 12 forced Bellerive to alter his playing style? Initially informed he might need as long as a year to be healthy enough to play hockey again, the determined youngster is remarkably close to the pace that led to 92 points in 71 WHL games last season. However, the 83 points the stocky center has in 67 outings for the Lethbridge Hurricanes this time include 33 goals compared to 46 a year earlier. Fifty assists and counting might indicate a new approach as a playmaker, although he remains feisty in his final junior schedule. Mark Allan

December 2018 – Not invited after all to Canada’s final world junior evaluation camp, Bellerive remains with Lethbridge of the WHL. The fierce competitor has 16 goals, 23 assists and 32 PIMs in 33 outings with the Hurricanes. Mark Allan

December 2018 – Bellerive joins Lethbridge teammate and fellow Pittsburgh draftee Calen Addison among 40 players invited to Team Canada’s selection camp for the looming world junior hockey championship. The fiery yet talented Bellerive is producing at better than a point per game in his fourth campaign for the WHL’s Hurricanes, adding 30 PIMs in as many games. Mark Allan

November 2018 – In his fourth WHL campaign and second as the captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the pugnacious yet skilled center had eight goals, 11 helpers and 14 PIMs in 15 games. That projects to be close to the 46 goals, 92 points and 82 PIMs he totaled in 71 outings last season. This is an important hint about his future success because he badly burned his hands in an off-season mishap. Mark Allan

September 2018 – In an early round of training camp cuts, the Penguins returned the aggressive middleman to the Lethbridge Broncos of the Western Hockey League. The Pens have to like Bellerive’s determination and hard off-season work to recover from badly burned hands. The coming junior campaign will be crucial for him to demonstrate he has not lost his 92-point scoring touch and that he is learning to avoid badly timed PIMs. Mark Allan

September 2018 – Bellerive had a more memorable off-season than most young NHL hopefuls, and he’s still recovering. Initially told by doctors that he would miss a full season of hockey after his hands were severely burned in a campfire accident, the 19-year-old is doing his best to invalidate that prognosis. Demonstrating the determination that was one of the reasons Pittsburgh signed the undrafted center as a free agent, Bellerive got into a gym the day after a 12-day hospital stay ended. His inspirational off-season training left him almost completely recovered in time for early-September’s Prospects Challenge in Buffalo. Although his 92 points in 71 WHL games were impressive, the youngster has to learn to rein in his temper and avoid taking needless penalties. Mark Allan

June 2018 – The antagonistic middleman, injured in a fire at a bachelor party, is expected to make a full recovery, the Pittsburgh Penguins said in a statement. The 19-year-old posted 46 goals and as many assists in 71 WHL games with Lethbridge. Also burned was Hurricanes teammate Ryan Vandervlis and team alumnus Matt Alfaro. One of the other players was reported to be in critical condition, although he wasn’t identified. A substance added to a firepit caused an explosion, RCMP reported. Mark Allan

May 2018 – A fiercely competitive center whose league and post-season scoring totals have soared during his three campaigns with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, Bellerive racked up 46 goals and as many assists in 70 games as team captain before adding 25 points in 16 outings as the Hurricanes reached the East Conference final. His PIMs have remained consistent, averaging more than one a game in league play and playoffs. A sturdy (5-10, 198), determined player with some speed, creativity, a lot of physicality and some leadership qualities, Bellerive will get a good look at Pittsburgh’s camp before being reassigned for more seasoning. Mark Allan

April 2017 –  The stocky young forward totaled four goals and three assists in three games, including a hat trick against New Jersey Devils’ hopefuls at the 2017 Prospects Challenge in Buffalo. He also took part in Pittsburgh’s prospect development camp last July, followed by a three-year, entry-level contract six months later. As well as compiling a combined 92 points in his first two campaigns with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL, including 27 goals in 2016-17, Bellerive notched seven goals and seven assists in 20 games during Lethbridge’s run to the 2017 WHL title. He also skated four times for Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament after previously being Team Canada-Red’s alternate captain at the 2015 Under-17 world championship. The second overall selection in the 2014 WHL bantam draft is having a third-year WHL breakout with 26 goals and 60 points in his first 43 outings as well as maintaining his WHL average of about a penalty minute per game. He does not hesitate to drop his mitts. Mark Allan