Jordy Bellerive waited a little longer than he would have liked for his first professional point.
Bellerive, 20, was a healthy scratch for the Penguins' season opener against Hershey on Oct. 5, mainly by virtue of being a rookie on a deep team of forwards.
Bellerive made his season debut in the next game, the following week in Lehigh Valley, playing on the team's fourth line. Seven games into the season, he was still searching for his first professional point.
Last week, in Bellerive's eighth game of the season, he finally connected with a 5-on-3 power play goal:
"It was a pretty special feeling, I was getting a little frustrated there," he told me after. "I had some good looks throughout the season so far. It took me a little longer than I had hoped," he laughed. "But it was a great feeling."
Bellerive has spent much of the season centering the third line, and has been playing on the team's second power play unit. With Adam Johnson, Sam Lafferty, and Joseph Blandisi returned to Pittsburgh, Bellerive is now playing on the left wing of the fourth line with Chase Berger and Jake Lucchini.
Bellerive isn't putting up as many shots as he'd like at this point of the season, which is why it took so long for his first goal to come. In juniors, he was a shot production machine, even in the defense-minded WHL. In 2017-18 he averaged 4.5 shots on goal per game, a figure that dropped to a still strong 3.9 shots per game last season. In Wilkes-Barre, he has 10 shots in 10 games so far. Getting off more shots is something he'd obviously like to improve upon. Even if he isn't finishing much yet, he could still create rebound opportunities for his linemates.
"Any time you can get a lot of shots on net, you're creating opportunities for yourself and other guys around you," he said.
Bellerive's physical game makes him a good candidate to fill that fourth line role, and even when he isn't contributing offensively the way he'd like, he can still help the team.
"When things aren't going well maybe that's when I can chip in and try to be a positive presence physically," he said. "That's something that'll always be a part of my game."
I asked Bellerive if there's anything about the professional game that is different from juniors that he thinks he's still adjusting to, and he pointed to the same elements that nearly all players in his position say is an adjustment.
"The biggest thing is the speed," he said. "Defensively, there's just so much less time to make plays and stuff like that. In the offensive zone, someone is always coming on you right away. There are bigger, stronger guys. Just capitalizing on chances is a lot harder in pro than it is in junior."
Bellerive actually made his professional debut last season, when he played three games with Wilkes-Barre as a Black Ace when Lethbridge's season ended. It was a short stint, and he didn't put up any points, but it gave him a preview of what to expect this season.
"Honestly, coming in last year, I had no idea what to expect," he said. "A little bit of a taste there was nice, to get a feel for it and find out what I needed to work on over the summer."
After Bellerive was badly burned in a bonfire accident two summers ago, he had to readjust the way he positions his hands on his stick because of the scars. At this point, he said he's "pretty used to" his hands, and doesn't think that's something he's still adjusting to.
Something he is adjusting to a little bit is life off the ice. In juniors, players live with billet families, who do so much for the players at home. With no billets, Bellerive has had to do some learning.
"This is my first season living on my own," he laughed. "It's different. I learned to cook a little bit, do my laundry. It's pretty nice."
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THE ROSTER MOVES
• Defenseman Reid McNeill was released from his professional tryout contract after one game. He played a strong game in his debut, but he was a victim of the AHL's veteran rule.
• Forwards Johnson and Blandisi were re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre on Oct. 29. Lafferty was re-assigned on Oct. 31.
• Wilkes-Barre re-assigned forward Brandon Hawkins to Wheeling on Oct. 31. He recorded one assist and an even plus/minus in three games on his recall.
THE INJURIES
• Forward Thomas Di Pauli is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He last played on Oct. 13.
• Forward Ben Sexton has been dealing with an upper-body injury since camp.
• Forward Jamie Devane is out with a lower-body injury. As of Oct. 11, he was expected to be out four to six weeks. He has not yet played this season.
• Forward Kasper Bjorkqvist is out for the next six months after undergoing knee surgery. He last played on Oct. 19.
• Defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph hasn't played since Oct. 19 and is out for an extended period with mononucleosis.
• Defenseman Jon Lizotte was a late scratch on Nov. 2 and it's not clear why.
• Goaltender Emil Larmi left after the second period of the game on Oct. 25 after Mike Vellucci said he felt ill, and is still being evaluated for an illness.
THE NEWS
• The NHL Network will air 20 AHL games this season. Wilkes-Barre will make one appearance on national television, this week's Nov. 6 game in Lehigh Valley. The January All-Star Classic events will also be televised.
THE GAMES
• Nov. 1: at Lehigh Valley, 4-3 shootout win
Lafferty opened the scoring on Friday in the first period of his first game since being re-assigned by Pittsburgh. It was his first AHL goal of the season. Stefan Noesen scored his 10th goal of the season in the final minute of the first period to extend the lead to 2-0. It was the first period all season that the Penguins hadn't allowed a goal.
Anthony Angello scored his third goal of the season 4:49 into the second period to extend the lead again, and the Phantoms' David Kase cut the Penguins' lead to two goals.
The Phantoms scored 1:43 and 17:59 into the third period to tie the game. After a scoreless overtime period, the game went to a shootout.
The Phantoms' Morgan Frost scored on the first attempt, and Noesen answered to tie it. Casey DeSmith stopped the next Phantoms shooter, and Blandisi scored on his attempt to take the lead. DeSmith stopped the final Phantoms shooter to clinch the win.
David Warsofsky led the Penguins with four shots on goal.
DeSmith made 25 saves on 28 shots to earn the win.
The Penguins went 1-for-4 on the power play, and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
• Nov. 2: at Springfield, 4-3 shootout loss
The Thunderbirds opened the scoring 1:52 into the game on their first shot of the game, the first shot goaltender Dustin Tokarski faced of the season since returning from the concussion he sustained in the preseason. Joseph Blandisi scored a power play goal, his first AHL goal of the season, midway through the first period to tie the game.
After a nearly scoreless second period, the Thunderbirds took the lead with 22 seconds remaining in the middle frame.
Sam Miletic tied the game with a power play goal 2:53 into the third period, and Blandisi scored his second goal of the game 20 seconds later to take the lead. The Thunderbirds tied the game again at 13:28, and the game went to overtime. After a scoreless overtime period, the Penguins went into a shootout for the second game in a row.
Each team's first shooter -- Noesen for the Penguins and Henrik Borgstrom for the Thunderbirds -- scored on their attempts. Tokarski stopped the next four Thunderbirds shooters, and Blandisi, Joseph Cramarossa, Lafferty, and Oula Palve were stopped. Angello missed on his attempt in the sixth round of the shootout, and the Thunderbirds' Owen Tippett scored to win the game.
Blandisi and Noesen were tied for the team lead in shots with seven each.
Tokarski stopped 19 of 22 shots in his return from a concussion.
The Penguins went 2-for-6 on the power play, and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
THE LEADERS
• Goals: Noesen, 10 in 11 games
• Assists: Warsofsky, eight in 11 games; Agozzino, eight in 10 games
• Points: Noesen, 13 in 11 games
THE COMBINATIONS
Sam Miletic — Andrew Agozzino — Stefan Noesen
Adam Johnson -- Joseph Blandisi -- Sam Lafferty
Joseph Cramarossa — Oula Palve — Anthony Angello
Jordy Bellerive — Chase Berger — Jake Lucchini
David Warsofsky — Macoy Erkamps
Niclas Almari — Zach Trotman
Kevin Czuczman — Michael Kim
THE STANDINGS
• After this week, the Penguins’ record is 5-4-1-1. They dropped remain sixth in the eight-team Atlantic Division, but have the same number of points (12) as the Phantoms in fifth place.
• The power play sits at 23.9 percent, sixth in the 31-team league. The penalty kill is operating at 71.4 percent overall, next-to-last in the league.
THE SCHEDULE
• The Penguins will have three games this week. They'll play in Lehigh Valley against the Phantoms (4-2-1-3) on Wednesday, in Utica against the Comets (8-2) on Friday, and at home against the Syracuse Crunch (5-3-2) on Saturday.
GOALS OF THE WEEK
Lafferty didn't waste any time:
Noesen's goal was a breakaway:
Angello's goal was his third of the season:
Blandisi scored twice in Springfield:
Miletic's goal was a redirect of a Warsofsky shot:
THE PODCAST
• Agozzino was featured on the second Penguins Podcast of the season:
WILKES-BARRE FUN THING
Larmi dropped the gloves with Tux at a season ticket holder meet and greet:
It's okay, though. They made up:
Some of you probably know we had a little fight with Tux. I just want to tell you that we are friends again. pic.twitter.com/FjWJcYKMG8
— Emil Larmi (@emillarmi) October 29, 2019
