Mile High Sticking
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Colorado Avalanche : Reviewing the New Guys

By Will Cooper

DENVER, COLORADO - NOVEMBER 07: Joonas Donskoi #72 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates his third goal of the game against the Nashville Predators with teammates Andre Burakovsky #95, Nazem Kadri #91 and Cale Makar #8 as hats fall from the stands at Pepsi Center on November 07, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Predators 9-4. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - NOVEMBER 07: Joonas Donskoi #72 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates his third goal of the game against the Nashville Predators with teammates Andre Burakovsky #95, Nazem Kadri #91 and Cale Makar #8 as hats fall from the stands at Pepsi Center on November 07, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Predators 9-4. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Last season (VGK): 6G; 9A – 15 Pts; +2 rating in 76 GP

This season: 4G; 5A – 9 Pts; +6 rating in 29 GP

Cap Hit – $1,800,000

A less expensive version of Carl Soderberg, Bellemare was acquired as a free agent in July, when the window opened. With Soderberg’s contract being traded to Arizona, there was suddenly an opening for a third / fourth line center.

Belly is a very team-centric player. His playing style is to play hard for his teammates, but his behaviour off the ice is also exemplary, such as his urging of the media to present the player of the game award to France’s netminder, Florian Hardy, who made 42 saves, helping France beat Finland 5-1 at the World Championships in 2017. Bellemare had a goal and an assist in that game. These acts build team chemistry and that is a great reason outside of the numbers to recruit someone like this.

While his numbers will never be fantastic and comparable to the second line, as mentioned above, Bellemare is still an integral part of the Colorado Avalanche, featuring on the Penalty Kill with a tenacious style of play that has been described as “really tough to play against” by both former teammates and new ones alike.

Quarter-Season Grade: B+

Extra points for effort here, but the bar is set low for points, due to his team role. The fact that he is already on pace to shatter his previous career high of 16 points by the end of the season has me excited, as any Avalanche player doing well means the team is as well!

Oh, and he can score against the Wild

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