Bellows Booming After Big Season in Portland

Kieffer Bellows called a pretty big audible last summer.
Bellows, the Islanders 2016 first-round pick, made the decision to leave Boston University and college hockey after one season in favor of heading to the Portland Winterhawks and the Western Hockey League and joining the junior ranks.
Changing teams, leagues and coasts was a lot of upheaval for one offseason, but the results spoke for themselves.
Bellows rekindled the scoring touch that made him a first-rounder, scoring 41 goals in 56 games with the Winterhawks, finishing second on the team in goals and third in points (74), a substantial uptick after scoring seven goals in 34 games with BU the year before.

"It was a blast, I had a lot of fun. Portland was a great city, I had a great billet family there," Bellows said. "All the coaching staff, Mike Johnston and the rest of the guys were fantastic to me and they really helped me elevate my game to a whole new level."
One reason Bellows felt his production return to his US National Team Development Program levels - where he scored 50 goals in 62 games in 2015-16 - was being able to play more games and on a more consistent basis. The WHL teams play 72 games a season as well as during the week, while the collegiate programs play roughly half the games and nearly exclusively on weekends.
"The experience was great, it really helped me fine-tune my game and really develop a way that I never thought I could before," Bellows said. "The biggest thing I learned was just get as much rest as you can and you could be playing three-in-three, or four-in-five and sometimes you go on long road trips and make sure you're sleeping on the bus or getting good rest and nutrition out there."

Bellows said he felt that experiencing the WHL's pro-like schedule will benefit him when he makes the jump to pro hockey next season. After turning 20 on June 10, Bellows is now old enough to play in the American Hockey League next season, should he not make the Islanders roster out of training camp.
Bridgeport bench boss Brent Thompson said he always keeps a close eye on the 20 year olds he could potentially get and isn't so sure he'll have Bellows to throw over the boards next season.
"Kieffer, the way he came into camp, he's got good life, he looks strong and looks like he's gained a step," Bridgeport Sound Tigers Head Coach Brent Thompson said. "He's confident right now, so who knows, he may be playing for the Islanders."

The other highlight of Bellows' bounce-back season was the World Junior Hockey Championships. The Edina, MN, native scored nine goals, breaking Jeremy Roenick's record for most goals at a single WJC. Bellows was named a top-three player on Team USA, made the WJC all-star team and took home a bronze medal, which shares a mantle with his gold from the year before.
All of that has Bellows, the son of former NHLer Brian Bellows, feeling good heading into this year's Mini Camp. Turning pro is the next step in his career development, but he's not getting too far ahead of himself. This is still a valuable week to play against other top prospects and check in with the Islanders new regime.
"I'm just excited for it," Bellows said. "It'll be a really cool experience going into training camp, but I just have to take it one day at a time right now. It's all about training through the summer and developing as much as possible and learning as much as I can here from the coaches and the rest of the guys. Each day will help me as much as possible."