# Kieffer Bellows

Kieffer Bellows (born June 10, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the first round (19th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. He is the son of former NHL player Brian Bellows.

## Playing career

Bellows grew up playing hockey in Edina, Minnesota where he won a Minnesota 2014 Class 2A State Championship as a sophomore at Edina High School. Before being drafted into the NHL, he played with the Sioux Falls Stampede and U.S. National Development Team of the United States Hockey League (USHL). In his rookie season with the Stampede, Bellows was fifth in the United States Hockey League with 33 goals and was named USHL Rookie of the Year. Bellows then went on to play with Boston University before being drafted in the first round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. On September 22, 2017, Bellows was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Islanders. Bellows chose to forgo the three remaining years of his NCAA eligibility and subsequently joined the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL), who has drafted him in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft.
Bellows made his NHL debut on February 4, 2020, in the Islander's 4–3 overtime win against the Dallas Stars and also recorded his first NHL point when he assisted on Derick Brassard's goal. Bellows scored his two NHL goals in the Islanders' 5–3 win against the Los Angeles Kings on February 6.
On October 9, 2020, the American Hockey League (AHL) announced that Bellows had violated the league's performance enhancing substances rules. On March 13, 2021, Bellows became the first player in Islanders history to score his first four NHL goals in a pair of two-goal games.
In September 2021 and August 2022, Bellows was signed to one-year contracts by the Islanders. Bellows opened the 2022–23 season with the Islanders, featuring on opening night before serving as a healthy scratch through 6 games before he was placed on waivers by the Islanders. Bellows was claimed off waivers the following day by the Philadelphia Flyers on October 27, 2022. Bellows was unable to establish himself within the Flyers, registering just 3 goals through 27 games with an assignment to AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during his tenure.
As a pending restricted free agent, Bellows was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Flyers on 15 June 2023. He joined the Carolina Hurricanes on a PTO on September 12, 2023 but was released less than a month later. He subsequently joined the Toronto Marlies on a professional tryout contract (PTO) on October 30, 2023. Bellows was subsequently signed to an AHL contract for the remainder of the 2023–24 season with the Marlies and posted his most productive season of his professional career in notching 27 goals and 49 points through 52 regular season games.
As a free agent in the off-season, Bellows secured an NHL contract after agreeing to terms on a one-year, two-way contract with the Nashville Predators on July 3, 2024.

## Personal life

He is the son of former NHL player Brian Bellows.

## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2014–15 | Sioux Falls Stampede | USHL | 58 | 33 | 19 | 52 | 78 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 12 |
| 2015–16 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 23 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016–17 | Boston University | HE | 34 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 56 | 41 | 33 | 74 | 63 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 12 |
| 2018–19 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 73 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 101 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019–20 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 52 | 22 | 9 | 31 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2019–20 | New York Islanders | NHL | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2020–21 | New York Islanders | NHL | 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2021–22 | New York Islanders | NHL | 45 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | New York Islanders | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 27 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 12 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023–24 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 52 | 27 | 22 | 49 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 95 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — |

### International

| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2016 | United States | U18 | | 7 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 8 |
| 2017 | United States | WJC | | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 2018 | United States | WJC | | 7 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 4 |
| 2022 | United States | WC | 4th | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | 21 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 18 |
| Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 7 |