What Happened to Kieffer Bellows?

What Happened to Kieffer Bellows?

By Ryan Maher

Hamden, CT- Yesterday afternoon Isles forward Kieffer Bellows was placed onto waivers.

Today, the 24-year-old American winger, was claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers.

So, what happened to the once promising goal scorer?

Keiffer Bellows, son of Brian, was drafted to the Islanders 19th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Two months after being drafted, Bellows travelled from Edina, Minnesota to Boston, Massachusetts as the then 18-year-old would begin his college hockey career at Boston University.

Bellows struggled in his first season at BU and after just 14 points in 34 games he left BU to head out west to play in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks.

In Portland, Bellows found his game scoring 74 points in 56 games including 41 red lights. It seemed after a rough season at BU, Bellows was back to his normal self.

During the winter of that season, Bellows attended the World Junior Championships competing with the United States. Kieffer scored nine goals in seven games breaking Jeremy Roenick’s US WJC goal record.

After his impressive season in Portland and at WJC, Bellows would head to the Isles farm club, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Entering his first season in Bridgeport, the organization and its fans had elevated expectations for the power forward. These expectations were not met. In Keiffer’s first season under Bridgeport head coach Brent Thompson, he struggled, and I mean he really struggled.

The NHL hopeful top line scoring winger disappointingly put up 19 points in 73 games and was scratched from the lineup frequently.

This was quite worrisome for the Islanders as just a year removed from a miraculous season in the W, Bellows was taking steps back rather than forward in his development.

One thing that scouts always were worried about regarding Kieffer was his skating. He clearly was not an efficient enough skater at 20 years old in the AHL. This was not good.

In his second season in the AHL, Bellows began to progress, but it was still not exactly what the Islanders thought they would get out of him.

After scoring 10 goals in 11 games in December of 2019, Bellows brought up to the Islanders for his first time in his NHL career.

After nearly four years since being drafted, Bellows would make his NHL debut agaisnt the San Jose Sharks on February 4, 2020. Bellows would collect his first NHL point that night in the ways of a primary assist.

Just two nights later, Bellows scored not one but two goals in a win over the LA Kings. These were his first and second NHL goals.

Unfortunately for Bellows, he would only play in six more NHL games, in which he was pointless in, before being sent back down to Bridgeport.

The Covid-19 pandemic would soon come and that would be the end to Bellows season.

Before the Islander travelled to the bubble in Toronto, the league had announced that Bellows was to be suspended for violating the league's substance policy. There would be no more detail to it than that.

Coming off his suspension, in the fresh 2020-21 shortened season, Bellows appeared in 14 games for the Islanders, scoring just three goals.

It seemed as if it was the first stage of failure to Bellows stint in the blue and orange.

His name would then be heard in trade rumors and what not as there was still value to the player that was hoped to be a sniper in the league.

In 2021-22, Bellows received more opportunities and ice time and improved his 200ft game. He tallied six goals and 13 assists in 45 games.

Bellows then received a 1 year, 1.25 million contracts as a “prove it” deal with the Islanders this past summer.

Bellows then appeared in the home opener on October 13th against Florida, he was a -1 and was scratched the next game.

Then, on October 26th, Kieffer Bellows was placed on waivers, ending his Islander career.

So, what happened to Bellows, who was once thought to have been a future leading goal scorer in the league?

A few things went wrong for Kieffer:

-Inability to have success in Bridgeport

-Brent Thompson coaching

-Suspension

With all of this, it just never allowed Bellows to really grasp the professional game that the Islanders so hoped he would. It marks what appears to be another failed first round pick prospect joining the recent list of Josh Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle.

My belief on the reason Bellows struggled... is Brett Thompson.

Year in and year out Brent Thompson has managed to just completely blunder the Islanders young forwards progress towards making the NHL and Bellows just another player added to that statistic.

It is time Thompson was fired. The Islanders simply cannot afford to have more prospects go to waste.

It is a complete shame that Kieffer Bellows has turned bust for the Islanders. He was claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers.

I wish Kieffer the best of luck to his fresh start in the city of brotherly love.