Brian Bellows

Lore & Background

Bellows excelled in the junior leagues for the Kitchener Rangers, where he led them to appearances in the championship game in both 1981 and 1982, which culminated with them winning the event in the latter year; Bellows set a record for the fastest goal in tournament history at 11 seconds and in the championship game, he recorded five points. Projected as one of the best prospects for the 1982 NHL draft, he was selected with the second overall pick by the Minnesota North Stars. He recorded 20-goal seasons in each of his first twelve seasons, with his peak coming with the 1988–89 season, where he scored 55 goals to tie the franchise record (a mark that has not been surpassed) to go with a career-high 99 points. He recorded 29 points in the 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs to lead the North Stars to the Stanley Cup Final, which they lost in six games. He was traded by the North Stars in the 1992 offseason to the Montreal Canadiens; he departed as the all-time goal scorer in North Star history. With Montreal, he scored 40 goals in the 1992–93 season and subsequently recorded six goals in 18 playoff games that year as the team won the Stanley Cup Final. He had one more 30-goal season with Montreal before being traded to the Lightning in the 1995 offseason, where he scored his final 20-goal season prior to being traded to Anaheim. Playing part-time for the Berlin Capitals to start the 1997–98 season, he was recruited to play for the Capitals as a free agent in March of 1998 and recorded 13 points in their run to the Stanley Cup Final. He played one more season with the Capitals and recorded his 1,000th career point in his final season in 1999. Internationally, he represented Canada on four occasions from 1984 to 1990, which saw him win the Canada Cup in 1984 and finish second at the Ice Hockey World Championships in 1989. A three-time All-Star selection, he retired with 485 goals and 537 assists in 1,188 games.

Reader's Guide

Bellows was born in St. Catharines, Ontario. In the Junior B level of his hometown, he scored 50 goals and 130 points and was drafted as the first overall pick by the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League prior to the 1980–81 OHL season. He soon became captain of the team and in 113 games spread out over two seasons, he had 94 goals and 119 assists. During this time, he was featured in Sports Illustrated, which described him as the hottest prospect since Wayne Gretzky. In his two seasons with Kitchener, he captained the team to two consecutive Ontario Hockey League championships and appearances in the championship game of the Memorial Cup, which saw them win the trophy on their second attempt by a score of 7–4 vs the Sherbrooke Beavers. Bellows had three goals and two assists in the championship game. In 2025, the Rangers announced that Bellows would be enshrined in the newly established Level of Legacy. His induction ceremony was held on January 9, 2026 prior to the home game against the Oshawa Generals. In the 1982 draft, the Minnesota North Stars held the second pick in the draft by circumstance. Previously, in August 1981, the team (as led by general manager Lou Nanne) made a trade with the Detroit Red Wings that sent Don Murdoch, Greg Smith and the top draft choice in the 1982 draft in exchange for the top pick of the Red Wings in that same draft. As it turned out, Minnesota got the 2nd pick in the draft while Detroit got the 17th pick (they later used the pick on Murray Craven). Prior to draft day, Nanne made a deal with the Boston Bruins that sent Brad Palmer and Dave Donnelly to the Bruins in exchange for Boston not selecting Bellows (the Bruins went on to select Gord Kluzak). In his rookie season, Bellows had his first goal for a three-point night in his second game as a player against the Detroit Red Wings and ultimately had 35 goals with 30 assists in 78 games. In the playoffs that year, Bellows scored nine points (five goals, four assists) in nine games. When team captain Craig Hartsburg was injured partway through the 1983–84 season, Bellows was named interim captain for the remainder of the season. At 19 years and 4 months, Bellows became captain at an earlier age than Connor McDavid, Gabriel Landeskog and Sidney Crosby. However, because Bellows was an interim captain, McDavid is still considered the youngest captain in history.

Did You Know?

• Bellows wore jersey number 23 with the Washington Capitals.
• Bellows scored 55 goals in the 1988–89 season, not 1989–90.