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Alex Belzile

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Alex Belzile
Belzile with the Laval Rocket in 2019
Born (1991-08-31) 31 August 1991 (age 32)
Saint-Éloi, Quebec, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2012–present

Alex Belzile (born 31 August 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Originally undrafted by teams in the NHL, Belzile has also previously played for the Montreal Canadiens.

Playing career

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Junior

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Belzile played as a junior in the QMAA within the Rivière-du-Loup Midget AA program before he was selected in the 11th round, 192nd overall, at the 2009 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Draft by Rimouski Océanic. In his rookie season in 2009–10, Belzile appeared in 31 games recording 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points. He showed offensive potential in posting 11 points in 12 playoff games.

In his first full season in the QMJHL in 2010–11 season, Belzile led Rimouski in setting a personal best of 27 goals in 64 games. Establishing himself as a skilled, attacking forward, Belzile notched a new career high to lead the club in scoring by posting 70 assists and 92 points in the 2011–12 season. Despite placing second in the QMJHL in assists and fourth in points, he was passed over in each draft-eligible season.

Professional

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Opting to turn professional, Belzile signed a one-year contract with the Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL for the 2012–13 season. He recorded ten goals and 20 assists in 40 games with the Gladiators. Belzile also signed a professional try-out with the American Hockey League's (AHL) Hamilton Bulldogs. In his first game with the club on 22 March, he scored the game-winning goal in a 1–0 win over the Syracuse Crunch.[1] He finished his tenure with the team with eight points in 14 games.

Belzile remained with the Gladiators for the following 2013–14 season, but played a mere three games due to injury. On 28 February 2014, he was traded to the Alaska Aces. Belzile finished the season with 12 points in 19 games before scoring 10 points in 18 postseason games. The Aces defeated the Cincinnati Cyclones in six games to win the Kelly Cup.[2]

On 16 October 2014, Belzile was traded to the Idaho Steelheads. He recorded a career-high 28 goals and 41 assists for 69 points during the 2014-15 season.

On 1 September 2015, Belzile was traded to the Fort Wayne Komets. On 22 September, he signed a contract with the Komets' AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage.[3] He split the 2015–16 season between both clubs, finishing with 31 points in 29 games for the Komets and ten points in 25 games for the Rampage.

On 15 July 2016, the Rampage re-signed Belzile to a one-year contract extension.[4] He split the subsequent season between the Rampage and their new ECHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. Belzile recorded a team and ECHL-best 26 points in 18 games to help the Eagles claim their first Kelly Cup.[5]

Belzile returned to the Rampage for the 2017–18 season, signing a one-year contract extension on 8 August 2017.[6] In his first full AHL season, he recorded 34 points in 61 games.

Belzile with a trick shootout attempt at the 2019 All-Star Classic.

On 1 July 2018, Belzile signed a one-year contract with the Laval Rocket.[7] He represented the club at the 2019 All-Star Classic on 3 January 2019.[8] He finished the season with 54 points in 74 games.

On 25 May 2019, Belzile signed his first National Hockey League (NHL) contract, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract with the Rocket's affiliate, the Montreal Canadiens.[9] On 19 March 2020, the Canadiens signed Belzile to a one-year, two-way contract extension.[10] He totalled 14 points in 20 games for the Rocket during the 2019–20 season before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Continuing with the Rocket with periodic call-ups to play for the Canadiens, Belzile scored his first NHL goal on February 12, 2023, in a 6–2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. At age 31, he was the oldest player to score their first career goal for the Canadiens since 35-year-old Herb Gardiner in 1926.[11] He played 31 games with the Canadiens during the 2022–23 season, ultimately registering six goals and eight assists, before being injured in an April 1, 2023 game against the Carolina Hurricanes. He was the Canadiens' nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for the year, awarded to "the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey."[12]

After five seasons within the Canadiens organization, Belzile left as a free agent to sign a two-year, $1.55 million contract with the New York Rangers on July 1, 2023.[13]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Collège Champlain Cougars QJAAAHL 33 14 26 40 62 — — — — —
2009–10 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 31 10 24 34 20 12 7 4 11 14
2010–11 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 64 27 40 67 78 5 2 5 7 6
2011–12 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 63 22 70 92 85 21 6 18 24 28
2012–13 Gwinnett Gladiators ECHL 40 10 20 30 36 4 0 2 2 2
2012–13 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 14 3 5 8 11 — — — — —
2013–14 Gwinnett Gladiators ECHL 3 0 0 0 8 — — — — —
2013–14 Alaska Aces ECHL 16 4 8 12 0 18 3 7 10 18
2014–15 Idaho Steelheads ECHL 63 28 41 69 113 6 1 1 2 4
2015–16 Fort Wayne Komets ECHL 29 10 21 31 34 16 6 10 16 20
2015–16 San Antonio Rampage AHL 25 6 4 10 10 — — — — —
2016–17 Colorado Eagles ECHL 17 10 17 27 18 18 14 12 26 38
2016–17 San Antonio Rampage AHL 45 5 7 12 39 — — — — —
2017–18 San Antonio Rampage AHL 61 14 20 34 63 — — — — —
2018–19 Laval Rocket AHL 74 19 35 54 80 — — — — —
2019–20 Laval Rocket AHL 20 7 7 14 30 — — — — —
2019–20 Montreal Canadiens NHL — — — — — 6 0 1 1 0
2020–21 Laval Rocket AHL 17 4 10 14 39 — — — — —
2020–21 Montreal Canadiens NHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2021–22 Laval Rocket AHL 32 10 12 22 23 15 5 4 9 44
2021–22 Montreal Canadiens NHL 11 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
2022–23 Laval Rocket AHL 31 14 12 26 29 — — — — —
2022–23 Montreal Canadiens NHL 31 6 8 14 13 — — — — —
2023–24 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 61 19 31 50 70 10 1 2 3 16
NHL totals 44 6 9 15 17 6 0 1 1 0

Awards and honours

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Award Year
ECHL
Kelly Cup (Alaska Aces) 2014 [2]
Kelly Cup (Colorado Eagles) 2017 [5]
AHL
All-Star Game 2019 [8]

References

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  1. ^ "Hamilton Bulldogs 1, Syracuse Crunch 0". American Hockey League. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Alaska Aces win Kelly Cup with 4-0 victory over the Cincinnati Cyclones". adn.com. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Komets notes, Colorado official comments on continuing affiliation". The News-Sentinel. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Rampage re-sign Alex Belzile". San Antonio Rampage. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Colorado Eagles sweep South Carolina to win first Kelly Cup". Denver Post. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Rampage ink forwards Alex Belzile and Thomas Frazee". San Antonio Rampage. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Rocket agree to terms with Alex Belzile on one-year contract". Laval Rocket. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Alex Belzile to represent Rocket at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic". Laval Rocket. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  9. ^ "One-year, two-way contract for forward Alex Belzile". Montreal Canadiens. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Canadiens agree to terms on a one-year contract with Alex Belzile". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  11. ^ Basu, Arpon; Godin, Marc Antoine (13 February 2023). "Alex Belzile's first Canadiens goal gets announced by his dream voice". The Athletic. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Alex Belzile named Canadiens' candidate for Bill Masterton Trophy". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Rangers agree to terms with Alex Belzile". New York Rangers. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
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