Penguins A to Z: Isaac Belliveau could be a promising long-term project
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With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022-23 season coming to an end without any postseason action, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 49 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until next season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Corey Andonovski to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
This series will publish every weekday leading into the NHL Draft on June 28-29.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)
Isaac Belliveau
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left
Age: 20
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 179 pounds
2022-23 QMJHL statistics: 55 games, 46 points (11 goals, 35 assists)
Contract: Entering the first year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $875,000. Pending restricted free agent in the 2026 offseason. Belliveau is exempt from waivers for any transaction involving a minor league affiliate
Acquired: Fifth-round draft pick (No. 154 overall), July 24, 2021
Last season: In the franchise’s first draft under the watch of former general manager Ron Hextall, the Penguins didn’t have many draft picks. And most of them were in the later rounds.
But they definitely had a type they preferred and as a result, they invested three of their five selections into bigger defensemen.
But Belliveau wasn’t simply some big bully on the blue line.
“He’s got a lot going for him,” former Penguins director of player personnel Chris Pryor said the day Belliveau was drafted. “He’s a bigger kid. He’s got a little edge to his game. He’s got some puck game. In the draft there, we tried to make a point. We’re trying to get a little bit bigger if we can without losing the skillset. He checks a lot of those boxes.”
All of those attributes came together this past season as Belliveau had a productive campaign with the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Serving as an alternate captain for the second consecutive season, Belliveau opened the season on the Olympiques’ top pairing along with right-hander Tristan Luneau, a second-round pick (No. 53 overall) of the Anaheim Ducks in 2022.
That served as a runway for Belliveau to open the season with 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) in his first 14 games of the season.
An undisclosed injury Nov. 10 led to him missing 11 games. Recovered by Dec. 8, Belliveau played in the final 39 games of the regular season, posting 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) and helping Gatineau secure a share of first place in the QMJHL’s Western Conference.
Along the way, Belliveau signed his entry-level contract with the Penguins on March 1.
So far in the postseason, Belliveau has seven points (one goal, six assists) in nine games.
Opening the postseason on the second pair, Belliveau and the Olympiques eliminated the defending champion Saint John Sea Dogs in five games during the first round. In the second round, Belliveau posted five points (one goal, four assists) in a four-game sweep of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
Gatineau is scheduled to open a semifinal series against the Quebec Remparts on Friday.
The future: In the short term, Belliveau will likely report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League next season as he is eligible to make that jump.
In the long-term, Belliveau might end up being one of the relatively few bright spots of Pryor’s tenure with the Penguins. (He was fired April 14 along with Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke).
There is a lot to like about Belliveau’s potential. The base elements to be a steady NHLer are there. He has some size, maturity and hockey sense. Capable of playing on the power play and the penalty kill, Belliveau has a diverse skillset and while he isn’t renowned as a physical entity, he isn’t afraid to mix things up as evidenced by the 50 penalty minutes he recorded during the 2022-23 regular season.
It’s still very premature to forecast what Belliveau’s NHL’s future is. He has yet to play even a minute as a professional and there will likely be some growing pains next season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
But he has the look of a promising long-term project for a mid-round draft pick.