Belliveau Poised to Push For More Time With Penguins

With NHL and AHL training camps both underway, the opening of the AHL preseason schedule provides an opportunity for players on the AHL/ECHL bubble to make a strong case to remain in the AHL once the final cuts arrive from the NHL.

The way the Pittsburgh Penguins preseason has evolved - with Saturday's game in Detroit postponed and preseason games for the NHL Penguins in three straight days, coupled with Sunday's preseason game in Sudbury, the Penguins opted to keep a lot more players in NHL camp than perhaps they typically would.

The end result has the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins opening their preseason schedule Tuesday night in Lehigh Valley with just three players in camp on NHL contracts - goaltender Sergei Murashov, forward Raivis Ansons and defenseman Isaac Bellieveau.

"I feel good on the ice. I think I had a good camp in Pittsburgh, and a good rookie camp so I think I'm ready for this camp," Belliveau said. "Just working hard and playing my game."

For Bellieveau, after a strong season in Wheeling in 2023-24 his focus entering the AHL preseason is to be more involved in the AHL Penguins' plan in 2024-25 after appearing in just two AHL games last season.

"I really like his progression," Penguins assistant coach Sheldon Brookbank said of Belliveau's development from last season, to the 2024 Prospects Challenge in September to coming in to AHL training camp this past weekend. "Going down to Wheeling, I think, was probably the best thing for him. He played a lot of minutes down there. You can tell he looks like he's a different man here this year."

Belliveau spent almost the entirety of the 2023-24 season in Wheeling, scoring 14 goals and adding 24 assists in 70 ECHL games last season. The 14 goals Belliveau tallied were a career-high for him at any level throughout his hockey playing career.

Yeah, I don't why I scored a lot of goals last year. I worked hard on my shot, and the coaching staff was always there to support me offensively," Belliveau told InsideAHLHockey.com. "So yeah, that was nice. I hope I can score the same [amount] of goals this year."

While the offensive abilities were on full display as a rookie last season in the ECHL, and as is the case with most offensively inclined defensemen coming out of Canadian junior hockey, the adjustments to the pro game for Belliveau were more focused on his play and positioning in the defensive zone and away from the puck.

"Yeah, I think that's definitely part of it. I don't think he was ever really lacking in the defensive side of the game. I think it was more of understanding that you have to move the puck faster and at the AHL level," Brookbank explained of what Belliveau was tasked with working on in the ECHL last year, adding, "Coaches tell me all the time, they just want the puck off your stick and up to the forwards with speed. So I think he's starting to realize that - just make clean breakouts and plays like that."

Simplifying his game last year has Belliveau in position at AHL training camp this year to prove he can stick at the AHL level and be relied upon more this season.

"I think working on my skating. That's one of my weaknesses. So I just worked on my skating and my game overall defensively too," Belliveau said of his work this summer to prepare for the upcoming season, adding, "As a defensemen your first goal is to play well defensively and after that you can join the attack offensively. So yeah, just do my job defensively and after [that] offense is just a bonus."

To say this is a big preseason for Belliveau would be an understatement. With only seven defensemen on the AHL Penguins training camp roster entering Tuesday night's preseason opener, it's a big opportunity for Belliveau to get into game action and show the coaching staff the improvements he has made in the last calendar year as well as in the summer.

"He's really comfortable and poised with the puck, and he's cut out some of that complicated decision making that maybe he had a junior," Brookbank said of Belliveau's progression. "He looks like he's ready to take a step here. So it's so far, so good. We'll see in the preseason games for him."