Along with Lighthouse Hockey’s Jenny Berman, we remember Kieffer Bellows, whose moments of fun in with the Islanders were few and far between.
Kieffer Bellows had everything you’d want in an NHL prospect: a famous name and family lineage in hockey, high praise from prospect watchers, a tantalizing shot and a history of showing up in big moments. But as the years stretched on, from college teams to junior teams to the minors to cups of coffee with the Islanders, it seemed less and less likely that
Bellows would turn into what fans hoped he would be. Despite an AHL hot streak and couple of cool goals in the big league, he was eventually lost on waivers without much of a peep. We’re not mad, just disappointed that he turned from a can’t-miss-prospect into a winger who couldn’t skate (especially since the Islanders already had a few on the roster…).
Jenny takes us through her history with Bellows, including some very insightful observations about this entire era of Islanders hockey and how she felt a connection with the player over, of all things, Pokémon. We remember his strange and really unfortunate career that continues in Europe, make the Hall of Fame case for his dad Brian, and lament how we all have those prospects we want to see work out, even as it gets more and more evident that they won’t.
Thanks again to Jenny for joining us twice this season. Due to various factors, this has been waiting a long time to come out but it’s always treat to remember this time period and she was the perfect guest to walk us through it.
WEIRD BONUS MATERIAL
- Kieffer’s father, of course, was former All Star Brian Bellows, who was, according to some, the best.
- After a very good year with the US National Development Program, the Islanders took Bellows 19th overall in the 2016 Entry Draft. He was called by Bob McKenzie the, “best pure goal scorer in the draft outside of Patrik Laine.”
- He certainly made that pick seem like a good one when he played a heroic role in Team USA’s gold medal-winning World Junior Tournament..
- Later, Bellows left BU for Portland of the WHL, where he had a 41-goal, 74-point season.
- In 2019-20, Bellows went on a scoring tear in the AHL and earned his first call up.
- His first NHL goal, scored at Barclays Center, was a thing of beauty. He scored twice in that win over LA.
- He was also capable of doing stuff like this. And this. Too bad he didn’t do it often enough.
- Despite some fun, scattered moments, Bellows was never able to crack Barry Trotz’s veteran-packed lineup. That doesn’t mean the coach wasn’t a fan, even after he violated the AHL’s performance enhancing substances policy.
- All the ups and downs finally came to a head in October of 2022, when Bellows was picked up off waivers by the Flyers.
- After short stints in Philly and in Nashville, Bellows signed with Brynas of the SHL last summer.
What makes a “Weird Islander?”
We’re always open to suggestions about other Weird Islanders to discuss. Remember the criteria. Candidates must fulfill one of the two of the following:
- Played one (1) season or less for the Islanders or very short stints over multiple seasons.
- Be a veteran NHLer who is not generally associated with his time on Islanders.
Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.
Visit our friends!
- Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys featuring hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as Islanders Anxiety merch, and our Al Arbour and The Island shirts. Our portion of the sales benefit the Center for Dementia Research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
- The Pinot Project has Rosé, Pinot Grigio and a Pinot Noir that was named a 2024 Top 100 Best Buy by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. All are under $15 a bottle and are available at local wine shops and at UBS Arena.
- Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).
- Theme song: “Knuckles” by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.
- Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com. Jingle bell sfx also via ZapSplat.
Please subscribe, download, rate, review or spread the word about Islanders Anxiety, Weird Islanders: The Podcast! and all of our podcasts any way you can. All of it helps to raise the show’s profile and maybe could get us another fancy sponsor to sell out to in the near future. Leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
All Islanders Anxiety podcasts are available on:
- Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
- Amazon Music
- Audible.com
- I Heart Radio
- YouTube and YouTube Music
- And everywhere podcasts are found
