Bellerive signs free-agent deal
Three-year pact with Pittsburgh Penguins despite being passed over in draft
Martin Jones and Jordy Bellerive have something more in common now besides being North Shore Winter Club minor hockey products and Billy Coupland fans.
Jones is the San Jose Sharks’ No. 1 netminder. Bellerive, a centre, signed a three-year entry-level deal Saturday with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a non-drafted free agent after being passed over in June’s NHL Entry Draft following a solid second season with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes.
And Coupland? He’s a longtime minor hockey bench boss at NSWC. He coached Jones in bantam and Bellerive in pee wee. He also runs on-ice sessions in the summer in North Vancouver for pros and highend juniors. Both Jones and Bellerive have been frequent participants, although Jones missed out this year because of other commitments.
This summer, Coupland hammered home to Bellerive about how Jones, who was with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen at the time, went to the Los Angeles Kings’ training camp in 2008 as a free agent after being passed over in the draft and ended up signing a free-agent deal.
“This was my goal all summer. I had guys like Martin Jones in mind,” said the 18-year-old Bellerive.
Bellerive, a 5-10, 194-pound left-handed shot, remains at Penguins’ main camp. At his age, he has to be re-assigned to Lethbridge if he doesn’t stick with Pittsburgh. Players can’t be regulars in minor pro until they are 20.
Jones, now 27, played two more seasons with the Hitmen after signing with the Kings. Joe Hicketts, 21, a defenceman from Kamloops also mentioned by Bellerive as an inspiration going to Penguins camp, spent two seasons with the Victoria Royals after inking a free-agent deal with the Detroit Red Wings in September, 2014.
Bellerive wasn’t selected in this summer’s 217-player draft, despite being ranked No. 117 by McKeen’s Hockey and No. 126 by Future Considerations heading in. He had posted 27 goals and 56 points in 70 regular-season games with Lethbridge in 2016-17, followed by seven goals and 14 points in 20 playoff matchups.
“We had talked to a fair number of teams and I definitely thought I was going to get drafted,” said Bellerive, who wasn’t about to name names.
“As the rounds started to go by, I started to doubt it was going to happen. As the sixth round was winding down, I decided to go out on the ice for a workout. When I got off the ice, there was a message from my agent, saying that Pittsburgh had come to us right away, minutes after the draft had ended.
“Pittsburgh was my favourite team growing up. They’ve won back-toback Stanley Cups. It was an easy decision.”
Bellerive led the Penguins in scoring during the Sept. 8-11 Prospects Challenge tournament in Buffalo, with seven points in three games, including four goals.
Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford sought him out soon after, and told him assistant general manager Bill Guerin would be coming to talk to him. Guerin later approached him with a contract offer.
Bellerive’s first phone call after that went to his older brother Matt Bellerive, 22, a right-winger who played 285 games in the WHL, including a couple of stints with the Vancouver Giants. He spent last season at Mount Royal University.
“I’m not exaggerating … 12 sec- onds after talking to Bill Guerin I was already dialing my phone to talk to my brother,” said Jordy. “It was a pretty special phone call. To have him mentor me as a player and a person has been huge for me.
“It was a big day for my entire family.”
That includes older sister Brie Bellerive, 20, a forward who is joining the UBC women’s program this season after playing three campaigns with Clarkson University, an NCAA program in Potsdam, N.Y.
Jordy was the second overall pick in the 2014 WHL bantam draft. The Brandon Wheat Kings used the first pick on Winnipeg-born centre Stelio Mattheos. He was a third-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in June.
Surrey native and Okanagan Hockey Academy product Michael Rasmussen was chosen seventh by the Tri-City Americans. The centre went ninth overall to the Red Wings in June.