Pierre-Édouard Bellemare has a second chance with the Colorado Avalanche on a professional tryout invitation to training camp. He is determined to prove his worth and earn a spot on the roster.
The 39-year-old forward played 14:22 in the first preseason 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars and accumulated one shot, one giveaway and two takeaways. Exhibition games are for coaches and scouts to evaluate players and Bellemare knows he is on stage.
“This year is a little bit of a different situation because of the PTO. I see it as a — they gave me a chance to show them what I can do and how I can help,” Bellemare said. “It’s not like I’m thinking oh this is a preseason, I’m thinking like, alright, this is your chance to show the team your value and how you can help them.”
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The Le Blanc-Mesnil, France native was a fan favorite when he played two seasons with the Avs in 2019-20 and 2020-21. He signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning as a free agent on July 1, 2021 and lost to his former team in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2022. His return to the Mile High City has been very welcoming which has pushed him even more to earn a spot on the roster.
“I don’t remember coming to a place and feel that comfortable before. All the welcome, the hugging I’ve got, makes me feel very familiar and very wanted, right? So that part of the ice has been amazing,” Bellemare said. “Personally, I want this so bad. So it’s been easy to wake up and really come here early because compared to what everybody would think — oh, it’s almost 40 years old player, how much does he want it? I want it so … so it’s been very easy off the ice with the comfort.”
The team’s systems changed a bit while he was gone but guidance from head coach Jared Bednar has helped him get re-acclimated.
“This is the key for the coach. If you give them a system where there is no doubt and and the players are not thinking about the system, they are just doing naturally, most likely you win the Cup. That’s the biggest strength of a coach to get everybody, despite the brains and everything, to think into one direction without actually thinking about it, that it is a natural culture.” Bellemare said. “He’s very good at taking the time with either me or even the young players during practice to stop the practice and talk to you and make sure you understand.”
Bellemare’s experience and leadership will help with young players who may be competing in their first NHL-level game against some veteran Dallas Stars players in the second exhibition game on Friday night in Texas.
“All the guys that have been around, will take on a leadership role. There’s no question. It’s what they do, it’s how they operate,” Bednar said.
The puck drops at 6 p.m. MT and Alexandar Georgiev is set to play but not a full 60 minutes.
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