New Headline: "Ultimate Hockey Guide Reveals Blueprint for Next Season's Superstars
The road to the NHL isn’t a straight line, and for most players, it’s a roller coaster ride. Luca Del Bel Belluz is the case in point. He’s had brief stints in the NHL with the Columbus Blue Jackets but most of his past three seasons have been with the Cleveland Monsters in the American Hockey League (AHL).
You May Also Like: Defenceman Thomson Recalled From Belleville Senators to Ottawa Senators In Cleveland, he’s a star, one of the best players on the Monsters. In 164 AHL games, he’s scored 54 goals and added 78 assists, with 18 goals and 30 assists in 45 games this season. Del Bel Belluz makes any Blue Jackets fan wonder what he must do to remain with the NHL team and be a steady contributor.
Del Bel Belluz Keeps Adding Muscle “When someone tells you to get stronger, it’s not what you want to hear,” Del Bel Belluz noted in a conversation with The Hockey News. The skilled forward from Mississauga joined the Blue Jackets as a smaller player in the 160-pound range, and the team, knowing he’d get pushed around at that size, told him to build up strength to compete at the next level. “I’m not the first person who’s been told that.
It’s part of the game, part of the business,” he added. When the Blue Jackets were drafting a player, they wanted to mold him into an NHLer. It’s why they took their time with the 44th pick in the 2023 draft, telling him to stay in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for an extra season before joining the Monsters.
“Part of the task is growing into a man’s body, he’s still got a year or two of adding on muscle,” Monsters head coach Trent Vogelhuber added when talking about Del Bel Belluz after a 3-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack , a game where his top-line center scored a goal and added an assist. Related: Forward Pezzetta Recalled From Toronto Marlies to Toronto Maple Leafs Del Bel Belluz built up strength and is now on the verge of becoming a regular in the NHL. As a center, he must win puck battles and faceoffs while setting the tone on both ends of the middle.
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