• March 28, 2024

Flyers Sign French Forward Bellemare

BellemareA little over two weeks ago, I brought up here that the Philadelphia Flyers had remained relatively quiet when it came to signing undrafted free agents.

This was not necessarily a “problem” inasmuch as an observation on how the Flyers’ moves to date during this offseason have differed from recent offseasons.

The European free agent that had garnered the most attention from NHL teams was centerman Dennis Rasmussen. Rasmussen ultimately signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on June 10.

It seems that one other European forward had gained the Flyers attention, unbeknownst to the media- French forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

Per the Flyers official press release:

The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that they have signed forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to an NHL contract, according to general manager Ron Hextall.

A native of Paris, France, the 29-year-old Bellemare spent the last five seasons with Skelleftea of the Swedish Hockey League and posted 20 goals and 35 points in 52 games this past season.

He also appeared in the 2014 IIHF World Championships for France where he averaged a point per-game with three goals and five assists in eight games, including an assist and the game-winning shootout goal in a 3-2 upset victory over Team Canada on May 9 of the preliminary round.

Over parts of five seasons with Skelleftea, the 6-0, 196 pound Bellemare recorded 64 goals and 61 assists for 125 points in 238 games.

It is rare for a forward to make the jump from Europe to North America at his age, which makes the signing a bit surprising. The Flyers signed Finnish forward Mika Pyoräla ahead of the 2009-10 NHL season, but the centerman only tallied 2 goals and 4 points in 36 NHL games played. Pyoräla wasn’t “bad” as much as ineffective.

What works in Bellemare’s advantage is that he is a left winger. The only pure left wingers that the Flyers currently have under contract at the NHL level are Scott Hartnell, Tye McGinn and Jay Rosehill. Michael Raffl and Matt Read are versatile enough to play the off position, but it isn’t their natural position.

Bellemare finished this season ranked 21st in points in the Swedish Hockey League with 35 points. Rasmussen, for comparison’s sake, ranked 9th with 40 points.

Bellemare was interviewed last month by the Championship Hockey League following impressive performances for Team France at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships. France upset both Team Canada and Team Slovakia, before losing to Team Russia in the single elimination quarterfinals.

The likelihood of Bellemare making the opening night roster is virtually impossible to guess at this time. The big picture won’t become clearer until mid-July, once the frenzy of NHL free agent signings has begun to wind down.

Photo Credit: L’Equipe

Josh Janet

Josh Janet was raised in Northern New Jersey, but by an odd set of circumstances, is a Philadelphia sports fan. While recently converted to the Phillies, Josh is a diehard Flyers fan and can be expected to stay on top of the latest NHL news.

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