The Avalanche did not target Pierre-Édouard Bellemare to come in and be an offensive juggernaut. They signed him to help the penalty kill, anchor the fourth line, and to bring leadership to the locker room.

The offense was a nice bonus, though.

The 35-year-old center from France was having his best season in the NHL before the league shut down, setting career highs in goals (9), assists (13), and points (22). Sure, shooting over 10% helps for someone who has never shot over 7%, but a lot of his points start from the work he does away from the net.

In this film room, we’ll focus on Bellemare’s work along the boards, in the neutral zone, and the little things he does that give a coach like Jared Bednar a nice safety blanket on the ice.

SHADOWING MCDAVID

It’s not every day someone can stick with McDavid, if only for a brief moment. That’s what Bellemare does on this play.

Bellemare isn’t a speed demon by any means. He’s successful defensively because of his high hockey IQ. That IQ is on display here. He recognizes that Edmonton is setting up a breakout (likely a set play) to hit McDavid with speed down the wing. Because he was able to recognize that early in the play, it allows him to get a bit of a head start, and if he hadn’t recognized it immediately, he would have been in a lot of trouble. Just by sticking with McDavid, even if McDavid gets a step on him, he’s able to disrupt the play and force the Oilers player to make the perfect pass. The pass is a little short ultimately, and Bellemare is able to break it up and start play back the other way.

KILLING TIME

It’s easy to dump the puck in when your linemates are changing and hope you can beat the defender to the puck. It’s a lot better to hold onto the puck a few seconds longer and do just enough to maintain possession for a nice chance.

That’s what Bellemare does here. He’s the first of his linemates to get onto the ice and recognizes the two wingers need to get off. Instead of just giving it up, he holds onto it and heads to the boards, where he excels. He protects the puck from the opposing defenseman, and both times that he feels some extra pressure from a forward, he turns back and protects it some more. In total, the puck was on his stick for about seven seconds, and it was just enough to eat it until Calvert gets out there. He likely hears Calvert yelling and dumps it to where no Flyers player can get it, and starts a possession of 25 seconds in the zone with a few shot attempts.

PENALTY KILL

Bellemare was brought in to play a huge role on the PK, and the staff used him that way for sure. He was one of four forwards that averaged over two minutes of PK time a game and uses his IQ to make a smart play here.

This is towards the end of Bellemare’s shift, so he’s a little gassed, but here he recognizes that Nieto tipping the initial pass to McDavid has led to a bouncing puck. McDavid doesn’t have an easy outlet with Klefbom drifting into the neutral zone, so Bellemare attacks, and uses both his body and stick effectively. If he had just gone in with using only one of those, McDavid likely could have gotten away, but by pressuring him with his stick and bumping into him at the same time, it forces McDavid into an even tougher spot, and Bellemare takes the puck away and clears the zone for a full change

EFFECTIVE F3

During the course of a game, a forward can be either the F1, F2, or F3 on the forecheck at various times. Bellemare is able to do all effectively, and here he showcases his smarts as the F3.

With four Canucks players down low in the defensive zone, Bellemare stays up high to keep the numbers strong. He gets some help with a strong forecheck by Nichushkin, which forces the Canucks defender into a bad pass. Bellemare is sitting there waiting for it and starts things offensively. Barberio recognizes that he has a security blanket in Bellemare, and jumps into the play. His backdoor pass misses, and Connauton also recognizes he has Bellemare up high covering for him, so he’s able to pinch and keep the play alive. In going back and watching games, defensemen knew they could pinch with guys like Bellemare on the ice because he’s going to cover for them. This play starts with a smart forecheck, and the offensive zone pressure is kept alive because Bellemare provides coverage for the defensemen to step in and help.

HARD WORK LEADS TO CHANCE

Bellemare excels along the boards, and his hard work here leads to a chance of his own.

Once again, Bellemare uses his puck protection skills along the boards to keep the puck away from defenders, and do so just long enough until he has some support from Tynan. Tynan feeds Cole at the point, and Bellemare wastes no time going to the net. He does the right thing and gets his stick on the ice to make a deflection an option, and Cole makes a nice play to hit his stick perfectly. The goalie makes a nice glove save, but it’s another opportunity created by Bellemare’s hard work and leads to an offensive zone face-off. If a fourth-liner can end their shift in the offensive zone, they’ve done something right.

SMART READ, BETTER GOAL

Well, I had to include a goal. But I made sure it had a little bit of everything!

This entire play starts with Bellemare protecting the puck long enough along the boards until Nieto can come in for a shot on goal. What happens after is just Bellemare making a great read.

EJ pinches along the wall, so Bellemare covers back a little bit. He keeps his eyes on the puck, though, and reads exactly where Stone wants to go with it. Because EJ peels back pretty quickly, Bellemare is able to step up and intercept the pass that he knew was coming. From there, it’s just skill, as he walks around the defender and puts a perfect shot over Fleury’s glove. It’s a pretty goal but starts with Bellemare being in the right place at all times.

We probably can’t expect Bellemare to set new career-highs again next season, but you can still expect the smart, under the radar plays that he has always brought in the NHL.