CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Forward Jordy Bellerive's nickname in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season couldn't have been more fitting.
Bellerive, otherwise known as "Big Goal Belly," just has a habit for scoring clutch goals.
Through Bellerive's first two professional seasons in Wilkes-Barre, he has a career 22 goals in 82 total games. He scored 12 of those 22 goals in the third period or overtime. He led Wilkes-Barre last season in game-winning goals with three in 29 games, two of which were in overtime.
He went just about 200 feet in this overtime goal against Binghamton:
In his other overtime winner against Binghamton, he used his speed to get into position and capitalize off of a feed from P.O Joseph:
Speaking with Bellerive after Thursday's training camp practice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, I asked what he thinks has allowed him to develop this knack for stepping up so often in huge moments, and he broke into a big grin.
"I don't know," he said with a laugh. "Every kid likes to score those big goals. I think it's just momentum and energy and stuff like that, wanting to win. I don't know if it's coincidence or what, but I'm happy to score those goals."
Wilkes-Barre coach J.D. Forrest, though, had a pretty good idea, as he explained to me after one of Bellerive's overtime winners last season.
'It goes with his personality," Forrest said. "He just never really stops. He's one of those guys that has endless amount of effort, and he really, really cares big time about his game and our team. So that goes along with why he's able to, deep into games, find something extra for those important goals."
Bellerive's contributions go far beyond his clutch abilities, though.
I've said it a few times already on this site, and I'll keep saying it: Of the forwards currently in the Penguins' organization, nobody reminds me more of Brandon Tanev style-wise than Bellerive. He's a bit of a pest. And much like Tanev, Bellerive's great at drawing penalties. We saw it in Wilkes-Barre, and we saw it in Monday's preseason opener, when he drew two of the five penalties called against the Blue Jackets in the game.
"I like to draw penalties," he said. "I like to get scrappy. ... That's something that I've gotten the most opportunity in, playing that kind of grittier role."
At 5 feet 11, 194 pounds, the 22-year-old Bellerive is strong on his feet and brings a physical element to the ice. He recorded three hits in the preseason opener, and in Wilkes-Barre there were countless instances like this one where opponents just bounce off of him as if they ran into a wall:
"He plays with a lot of moxie," Mike Sullivan said of Bellerive on Thursday. "He's an energy guy. He has a physical dimension to his game, he's real competitive. I thought he played hard (in the preseason game). He's a real competitor."
Bellerive doesn't shy away from dropping the gloves when that "moxie" gets under the skin of opponents, either, like in this bout with Lehigh Valley's Brennan Saulnier last season after a hit from Bellerive:
Wilkes-Barre had an underwhelming season as a team last year, but one highlight was the team's penalty kill, which had an 82.1 percent success rate. Bellerive was one of the key forwards on Wilkes-Barre's top unit. That penalty-killing ability is something that could help earn him a call up this season.
"Players, anytime they can add a dimension to their game, I think it forces all of us when we're trying to assemble the roster to consider those attributes," Sullivan said when asked about Bellerive's penalty-killing.
Heading into last season, the biggest knock on Bellerive's game would have been his speed. But that was his primary focus in his training last summer, and it paid off over the course of last season
"Without a doubt, this is the fastest I've ever been in my career," Bellerive told me last training camp. "I'm really excited about that."
Bellerive used that speed to create more separation for himself, which led to his 10 goals and eight assists in 29 games, a leap in production from his rookie totals of 12 goals and 10 assists in 53 games. He was two goals and two assists shy of the previous season's totals, despite playing in 24 fewer games.
"That's what it's all about, speed nowadays," he said. "I think for me, I'm a strong guy, and I just wanted to improve my speed so I can just put both together. I think I did that last year, and it helped a lot for sure."
That speed was most evident last season in the next-to-last game of the season, driving to the net to set Kasper Bjorkqvist up for an overtime-winner in Lehigh Valley:
Bellerive, who shoots left, played center in Monday's preseason game and played almost exclusively center in Wilkes-Barre last season. As a rookie in Wilkes-Barre, Mike Vellucci used him often at wing. Bellerive said he prefers center but added that he's "totally comfortable" at wing as well, and that it doesn't matter much to him what position he plays.
"Whatever will get me in the lineup to play games," he said.
Bellerive is entering the last year of his entry-level deal this season. To date, the closest he's gotten to the NHL is these preseason games and his brief stint on Pittsburgh's taxi squad last year. He said that his mentality in this last year of his contract is just to "go out there and play."
"I took a step in the first year and hopefully take a step this year as well," he said. "That's my mindset. Just getting better every year, and whatever happens, happens."
I asked Sullivan what Bellerive has to do to take that step.
"He's going to get opportunities here moving forward," Sullivan said. "He has to try to make an impact on the game -- a positive impact -- by utilizing his skill sets and playing to his strengths."
Bellerive will look to use that scrappy, gritty side of his game to earn a shot in the NHL and be "Big Goal Belly" in the big leagues.
