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Pierre-Édouard Bellemare

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Pierre-Édouard Bellemare
Bellemare with France in 2024
Born (1985-03-06) 6 March 1985 (age 39)
Le Blanc-Mesnil, France
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position Centre/left wing
Shoots Left
NL team
Former teams		 HC Ajoie
Dragons de Rouen
Skellefteå AIK
Philadelphia Flyers
Vegas Golden Knights
Colorado Avalanche
Tampa Bay Lightning
Seattle Kraken
National team  France
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2002–present

Pierre-Édouard Bellemare (born 6 March 1985) is a French professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with HC Ajoie of the National League (NL). He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning and Seattle Kraken.

Playing career

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Europe

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Bellemare made France's top professional league, the Ligue Magnus in 2002 as a 17-year-old, playing with Dragons de Rouen. Showing early offensive promise, Bellemare was among Rouen's top scorers in each of his three full seasons with the club. Bellemare played in the Magnus until he was 20, before accepting an offer to play for Leksands IF, in Sweden's second tier league, HockeyAllsvenskan, in order to continue his development in stronger competition.[1]

Bellemare established himself in the Allsvenskan, learning to play a responsible two-way game while improving his points totals in each of his three seasons with Leksands. In the 2008–09 season, Bellemare led the league with 31 goals however was unable to help Leksands gain promotion to the top tiered SHL (SEL).

On 21 April 2009, Bellemare left the Allsvenskan, agreeing to a contract with Skellefteå AIK of the SEL for the 2009–10 season.[2] Establishing a role as a two-way centre with Skellefteå, Bellemare produced 9 goals and 14 points in 49 games in his rookie season. As Skellefteå AIK's third-line centre in the 2010–11 season, Bellemare agreed to a two-year contract extension on 22 December 2010.

From 2011 to 2014, Bellemare served as an alternate captain with Skellefteå, where he won the Swedish Championship back-to-back in 2013 and 2014.

Philadelphia Flyers

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Having recorded 125 points in 238 career regular season games, Bellemare left the SHL after 5 seasons. Opting to pursue a career in the NHL, Bellemare signed his first North American contract as a 29-year old free agent with the Philadelphia Flyers, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract on 11 June 2014.[3]

After attending the Flyers' 2014 training camp, Bellemare made the opening night roster to begin the 2014–15 season. He made his NHL debut in a fourth-line centre role, against the Boston Bruins on 8 October 2014.[4] He scored his first NHL goal on 22 October, in a victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins.[5] Later in his rookie season (although not technically a rookie due to his age), Bellemare's experience and dependable defensive play was rewarded when he signed a two-year contract extension with the club on 2 March 2015.[6] He appeared in 81 regular season games with the Flyers, missing just one game, posting 6 goals and 12 points.

Reprising his fourth-line centre role in his second season with the Flyers in 2015–16, Bellemare established a new career-best with 7 goals and 14 points in 74 games. He made his playoff debut with the Flyers in the opening game of the first-round against the Washington Capitals on 14 April 2016. Bellemare was suspended for one game on 19 April 2016, for an illegal check to Dmitry Orlov during game 3.[7] He returned in Game 5, recording his first playoff point, an assist, as the Flyers shutout the Capitals 2-0 on 22 April 2016.[8] He ended with 1 point through 5 games as the Flyers were defeated 4 games to 2 by the Capitals.

In the 2016–17 season, Bellemare appeared in every regular season game for the Flyers. He was named an alternate captain on 2 March 2017, a day after signing an additional two-year contract extension with the Flyers.[9] He finished his third NHL season posting 4 goals and 8 points, unable to help the Flyers return to the playoffs.

Vegas Golden Knights

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On 21 June 2017, having been unprotected by the Flyers at the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, Bellemare was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights.[10] He made his Golden Knights debut in the club's first regular season game, in a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on 7 October 2017.[11] In the 2017–18 season, he registered his first point with the Golden Knights during their home opener, registering an assist in a 5–2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes at T-Mobile Arena on 10 October 2017.[12] Continuing his role as the club's primary fourth-line centre he was later placed on injured reserve on 19 February 2018 after being injured in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.[13] He returned on 6 March for a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.[14] He led all Knights forwards with 63 blocked shots and finished with a career-high 10 assists and 16 points in 72 contests. He helped Vegas reach the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals in their inaugural season, posting 3 assists in 20 playoff contests before losing to the Washington Capitals in 5 games.[15]

In the following 2018–19 season, Bellemare was named as an alternate captain with the Golden Knights, and tallied 6 goals and 15 points in 76 games. He led the Golden Knights forwards in shorthanded time-on-ice and appeared 6 post-season games, missing the deciding Game 7 defeat to the San Jose Sharks due to injury. He was initially injured in Game 1 after he was the recipient of a cross-check to the face by Sharks forward Evander Kane. Kane was given a major penalty for cross-checking and a game misconduct, and was suspended one game.[16]

Colorado Avalanche

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Bellemare left the Golden Knights after their two first seasons, signing as a free agent a two-year, $3.6 million deal with the Colorado Avalanche on 1 July 2019.[17] Acquired to assume the role as the Avalanche's fourth-line centre, Bellemare made his debut with the Avalanche in the opening game of the 2019–20 season against the Calgary Flames on 3 October 2019.[18] Bellemare contributed early offensively, notching a career best 3 points against former club the Golden Knights in his first return to T-Mobile Arena in a 6-1 victory on 25 October, while also recorded a career high 7 points through the month of October.[19] Even with the season ending early because of COVID-19, Bellemare set an NHL career high in goals with 9 and points with 22 during the 2019–20 season. He scored his first playoff goal in the Avs 6–4 win over the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the Conference Semi-finals.[20] Unable to help propel the Avalanche past the Stars in Game 7, Bellemare finished with 2 goals and 3 points through 15 post-season games.

Returning for the second year of his contract with the Avalanche in the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season, Bellemare resumed his role on the fourth-line and was relied upon for his faceoff prowess in winning 60% of his draws. He appeared in his 500th NHL game on 1 May 2021, against the San Jose Sharks, becoming just the second French trained player behind Antoine Roussel to achieve the feat.[21] Matching his previous season high of 9 goals, Bellemare featured in 53 of the 56 regular season games for the Presidents' Trophy winning Avalanche. He registered 3 assists through 10 playoff contests with the Avalanche, unable to help the team advance past the second-round in a series defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Tampa Bay Lightning

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On 28 July 2021, Bellemare signed a two-year, $2 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.[22] Bellemare skated in 80 games for the Lightning during the 2021–22 season, recording nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points. The team reached the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals, losing in six games to Bellemare's former team, the Avalanche.[23]

Seattle Kraken

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On 7 July 2023, Bellemare signed as a free agent to a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Seattle Kraken.[24] In signing with the Kraken he was reunited with Dave Hakstol, his former head coach from his tenure with the Flyers. In the 2023–24 season, Bellemare was primarily deployed in the fourth-line role, and posted 4 goals and 7 points in a career season low of 40 regular season games.

Return to Colorado

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As a free agent from the Kraken, Bellemare went un-signed over the summer. Approaching the 2024–25 season, Bellemare accepted an invitation to return to the Colorado Avalanche organization agreeing to attend training camp on a professional tryout on 11 September 2024.[25] In participating in camp and pre-season in competition for the fourth-line centre role, Bellemare despite adding veteran leadership was surprisingly released from his tryout with the Avalanche on 3 October 2024.[26]

International play

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Bellemare in 2017

Bellemare participated at the 2010 IIHF World Championship as a member of the French national team.[27] He was also named to the French roster for competition at the 2014 IIHF World Championship.[28] In the nation's opening group game on 9 May 2014, Bellemare scored the game-winning shootout goal to give France a 3–2 victory over Canada, France's second-ever victory over the Canadians in 83 years.[29]

In the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, Bellemare played for Team Europe, being the only player to represent France in the tournament. Team Europe finished runner-up, having lost to Canada 3-1 and 2-1 in the championship match.

In the 2017 IIHF World Championship, Bellemare was set to receive the Player of the Game award, scoring a goal and an assist in France's 5–1 win over Finland. In an act of selflessness and respect, he waived acceptance of the award, urging it deserved to go to the French Team goalie, Florian Hardy, who had 42 saves.[30]

On August 27, 2024, Pierre was named Captain of the French Olympic qualifying team attempting to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.

Personal life

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Bellemare was born in a suburb of Paris, the third of five children. His father was born in Martinique, an island in the Caribbean. He learned to skate and play hockey at age 6 when his 13-year-old sister, Aurore-Annick, wanted to play hockey and he and his brother tagged along.[1] Another sister, Rose-Eliandre Bellemare, is an artistic gymnast who participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[31] Bellemare was in his first year chiropractor school when he accepted an offer to play in Sweden at age 20.[1] He is fluent in Swedish, French and English.[32][1]

Bellemare and his wife have two children.[33] They reside in Sweden in the off-season.[1]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 Dragons de Rouen FRA 11 0 1 1 6 — — — — —
2003–04 Dragons de Rouen FRA U22 14 12 18 30 40 2 4 4 8 2
2003–04 Dragons de Rouen FRA 22 10 10 20 16 4 1 1 2 4
2004–05 Dragons de Rouen FRA U22 4 4 9 13 6 — — — — —
2004–05 Dragons de Rouen FRA 28 4 15 19 20 12 7 5 12 6
2005–06 Dragons de Rouen FRA U22 3 2 3 5 0 — — — — —
2005–06 Dragons de Rouen FRA 26 12 17 29 24 9 2 7 9 6
2006–07 Leksands IF Allsv 44 8 11 19 24 10 1 0 1 4
2007–08 Leksands IF J20 2 1 0 1 4 — — — — —
2007–08 Leksands IF Allsv 40 14 15 29 12 10 2 3 5 4
2008–09 Leksands IF Allsv 41 31 18 49 113 10 5 5 10 6
2009–10 Skellefteå AIK SEL 49 9 5 14 16 12 2 7 9 8
2010–11 Skellefteå AIK SEL 53 10 8 18 20 16 1 4 5 0
2011–12 Skellefteå AIK SEL 55 19 17 36 40 15 4 8 12 12
2012–13 Skellefteå AIK SEL 29 6 16 22 47 9 0 1 1 2
2013–14 Skellefteå AIK SHL 52 20 15 35 32 14 9 5 14 6
2014–15 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 81 6 6 12 18 — — — — —
2015–16 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 74 7 7 14 27 5 0 1 1 15
2016–17 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 4 4 8 20 — — — — —
2017–18 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 72 6 10 16 14 20 0 3 3 14
2018–19 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 76 6 9 15 6 6 0 0 0 2
2019–20 Colorado Avalanche NHL 69 9 13 22 17 15 2 1 3 6
2020–21 Colorado Avalanche NHL 53 9 2 11 21 10 0 3 3 0
2021–22 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 80 9 11 20 19 23 2 1 3 27
2022–23 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 73 4 9 13 34 6 1 1 2 0
2023–24 Seattle Kraken NHL 40 4 3 7 6 — — — — —
SHL totals 238 64 61 125 155 66 16 25 41 28
NHL totals 700 64 74 138 182 85 5 10 15 43

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2002 France U18 D2 1st 5 6 4 10 4
2003 France U18 D1 4th 4 3 1 4 29
2004 France WJC D1 3rd 5 0 0 0 6
2004 France WC 16th 3 0 0 0 2
2005 France WJC D1 4th 5 5 1 6 18
2005 France OGQ 3rd 6 1 2 3 6
2005 France WC D1 2nd 5 1 0 1 0
2007 France WC D1 1st 5 2 3 5 2
2008 France WC 14th 5 0 0 0 18
2009 France OGQ 4th 3 1 1 2 0
2009 France WC 12th 6 2 1 3 2
2010 France WC 14th 6 1 2 3 4
2011 France WC 12th 6 1 1 2 2
2012 France WC 9th 5 2 4 6 4
2013 France OGQ 3rd 3 2 1 3 2
2013 France WC 13th 7 1 3 4 0
2014 France WC 8th 8 3 5 8 6
2016 France WC 14th 7 1 3 4 0
2016 France OGQ 2nd 3 0 1 1 2
2016 Team Europe WCH 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 1 1 2 4
2017 France WC 9th 7 2 2 4 4
2022 France OGQ 2nd 3 0 0 0 0
2024 France WC 14th 7 2 0 2 0
Junior totals 19 14 6 20 57
Senior totals 101 23 30 53 58

Awards and honours

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Award Year
Ligue Magnus
Champion 2004, 2005, 2006
Jean-Pierre Graff Trophy 2005
Allsv
Top goal scorer (31) 2009
SHL
Le Mat Trophy champion 2013, 2014

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Kaplan, Emily (28 April 2018). "French connection: Vegas' Pierre-Edouard Bellemare might just be the most interesting man in hockey". ESPN. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  2. ^ "SAIK sign Allsvenskan top goal scorer Bellemare" (in Swedish). Skellefteå AIK. 21 April 2009. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  3. ^ "Versatile Bellemare low risk addition for Flyers". CSN Philly. 11 June 2014. Archived from the original on 13 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Bruins edge Flyers in opener". ESPN. 8 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  5. ^ Crosby, Wes (22 October 2014). "Flyers rebound with hard-fought win against Penguins". NHL.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Flyers sign Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to a multi-year contract extension". Philadelphia Flyers. 2 March 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  7. ^ "Flyers' Bellemare suspended one game". NHL.com. 19 April 2016. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Neuvirth, Flyers shutout Capitals in Game 5 win". National Hockey League. 22 April 2016. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  9. ^ "Flyers extend with Bellemare and Neuvirth". Philadelphia Flyers. 21 June 2017. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  10. ^ Carchidi, Sam (21 June 2017). "Flyers' Bellemare goes to Vegas in expansion draft". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Neal, Fleury help Golden Knights win first game". National Hockey League. 7 October 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Vegas Golden Knights rout Coyotes 5-2 in inspired home debut". ESPN. 10 October 2017. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Golden Knights' Pierre-Edouard Bellemare: Placed on injured reserve". cbssports.com. 19 February 2018. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Korpisalo stops 37 shots as Columbus beats Vegas 4–1". cbssports.com. 10 March 2018. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Golden Knights' magic runs out in Stanley Cup Final against Caps". National Hockey League. 9 June 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  16. ^ "Bellemare questionable for Golden Knights against Sharks in Game 2". National Hockey League. 28 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  17. ^ Chambers, Mike (1 July 2019). "Avalanche signs defensive forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare". Denver Post. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  18. ^ "Avalanche opens new season with Victory over Flames". Colorado Avalanche. 3 October 2019. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  19. ^ Chambers, Mike (25 October 2019). "Avalanche dominates Golden Knights 6-1 in Las Vegas". Denver Post. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  20. ^ "Kadri, Avs regroup to beat Stars 6-4 in Game 3". SI.com. 26 August 2020. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  21. ^ Vernier, Andy (1 May 2021). "Bellemare Had Unique Journey to 500 NHL Games". Colorado Avalanche. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Lightning sign forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to two-year contract". Tampa Bay Lightning. 28 July 2021. Archived from the original on 11 May 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  23. ^ Kandrach, Sasha. "Avalanche Named 2022 Stanley Cup Champions". Colorado Avalanche. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Kraken sign forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to one-year, $775K contract". Sportsnet. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  25. ^ Colorado Avalanche (11 September 2024). "Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to attend camp on a PTO". X. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  26. ^ "Avalanche release Bellemare from his PTO". coloradohockeynow.com. 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  27. ^ IIHF (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-9867964-0-1.
  28. ^ Merk, Martin (8 May 2014). "Roster forming". iihfworlds2014.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  29. ^ "Canada lose World Championship opener..to France". The National. 10 May 2014. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  30. ^ Carchidi, Sam (8 May 2017). "Flyers' Pierre-Edouard Bellemare helps France win, then shows his selflessness". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 9 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  31. ^ Merk, Martin (16 June 2014). "The Frenchmen are coming". IIHF.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  32. ^ Schoen, David (11 November 2017). "Multicultural Golden Knights feature strong French influence". Las Vegas Review Journal. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  33. ^ Lazerus, Mark (24 January 2024). "Language barriers, culture shock and isolation: How the NHL's loneliest players cope". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
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