Success stories have been few and far between for the Montreal Canadiens this season.
But one player, in particular, has defied all the odds to not only make his way to the NHL, but also take advantage of what is perhaps his last opportunity to keep his NHL dreams alive: Alex Belzile.
With an assist in the Canadiens’ 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, the 31-year-old pushed his season totals to four goals and eight assists in 22 games.
And the context in which he earned those points deserves to be noted because playing minimal minutes in the bottom six is rarely conducive to scoring.
Yet, the Saint-Éloi native has consistently provided offence when the chips are down.
In other words, he’s leading the charge when the Canadiens need it most.
By The Numbers
Here’s where things get even more impressive.
As it stands, Belzile is among the top 5 players in the NHL when it comes to 5v5 production in relation to ice time, with 3.08 points per 60 (minimum 100 minutes).
He trails only Daniel Sprong (3.09), Elias Pettersson (3.19), Jeff Skinner (3.22), and Tage Thompson (3.37), and finds himself ahead of established NHL stars such as Matthew Tkachuk (3.03), Nathan MacKinnon (3.03), David Pastrnak (2.94), Jack Hughes (2.91), Connor McDavid (2.77), and Sidney Crosby (2.77).
We should note we’re dealing with a much smaller sample size when it comes to Belzile’s numbers, which works in his favour, however, it’s also fair to say Belzile is not playing with the same quality of teammates as a player like McDavid and Crosby usually does.
Of course, no one is saying Alex Belzile is a better player than Sidney Crosby, but considering his difficult journey to the NHL, which led him to a myriad of ECHL teams, you’ll find few better examples of players that best exemplify the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.
It may be too late for Belzile to be included in the Masterton Trophy conversation, but at the very least, he’s quickly working his way toward a well-deserved contract extension with the Canadiens.
All statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via NaturalStatTrick.
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