By Neal E. Boudette, BU '84
In the bronze-medal game at this year’s U18 World Championships, Team
USA was leading Canada 2-1 in the middle of the first period when the puck came
to Clayton Keller in the left circle.
Many Terrier fans are hoping that what happened next is a preview of
what’s coming to Agganis Arena this fall.
Keller, a BU recruit, had his back to the net. Glancing over his left
shoulder, he spotted Kieffer Bellows, his teammate on the USA National Team
Development Program this past season and also a Terrier recruit, drifting down from
the blue line on the other side of the ice.
Rather than continue to his left, Keller suddenly spun around the
opposite other way to his right, and in one motion whipped a blind pass across
the ice. The puck threaded through three Canadian players caught off guard by
the unexpected move, but the recipient wasn’t surprised in the least. Bellows
reached the puck in full stride and one-timed it into the Canadian net.
You can see the play here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oubc_WQIEBA
at the 1:10 mark. If you haven’t seen it, it will make your jaw drop.
“That was probably our coolest,” Keller said when I sat down with him
and Bellows in May, after an off-ice workout at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth,
Mich., where the NTDP program is based.
It was by no means their only head-spinning play during the 2015-16
season. Asked to recall a few highlights, their conversation mirrors their
on-ice play. Keller to Bellows and back to Keller. It’s Keller who starts, and
Bellows who finishes.
“The Youngstown one, “ Keller said.
“Yeah!” Bellows responded. “Our very first USHL game. Was it my first
goal?”
“Your second goal.”
“Yeah, my second goal, where you kind of wrapped it around. Kells did
this play behind the net where he fakes like he’s going around and he passes to
me and the goalie’s already on the other side and I just shoot it in a
wide-open net. Something we talked about doing, but didn’t’ know it would
actually turn out.”
Keller is a likely top-15 pick in this month’s NHL draft while Bellows is
seen as a middle to late first-rounder. They’re also considered sure-fire
linemates when they arrive in Comm Ave. this fall.
They haven’t heard anything specific from Quinn about lines for next
year, but Keller said he thinks the chances are pretty high it will happen.
Come October, you can bet Bernie Corbett will know their names and
numbers by heart.
Keller and Bellows are part of a monster in-coming class of eight
recruits that includes their NTDP teammates Chad Krys, a defenseman, and
goaltender Jake Oettinger, as well as Canadian defenseman Dante Fabbro, another
projected first-rounder.
This influx of talent will join a talented core featuring skilled
forwards like sophomores Jordan Greenway and Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson and a loaded
blueline featuring NTDP alum (and yet another possible first-rounder) Charlie
McAvoy. The combination should again have BU in the hunt for titles next
season.
For Coach Dave Quinn, could there be a more obvious no-brainer than to
keep Keller and Bellows? Keller racked up 37 goals and 70 assists this year for
107 points, becoming only the third NTDP player to break the century mark in a
single season. The others? Auston Matthews, the likely No. 1 pick this year,
and another guy, name of Kane. Pretty good company.
Here’s what I think is the most impressive stat about Keller: He scored
9-12-21 in 12 games against D-1 teams this past season. So he averaged 1.75
points a game against college-level competition -- as a 17-year old. The kid
doesn’t turn 18 until July 29.
Bellows, the son of former NHLer Brian Bellows, merely led the NTDP U-18
squad in goals with 50, and added 31 assists. His 81 points were second only to
Keller.
Bellows spent a year with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede before jumping
to the NTDP U-18 team last fall. He hoped to play with Keller, who was a
teammate once before in a Bauer Selects tournament in Russia.
“I knew he’d be very complementary to me,” Bellows said. “I came in [to
NTDP] and Coach [Danton] Cole said I would be playing with Joey [Anderson, a
UM-Duluth recruit] and Kells. It worked out pretty well. It’s worked our really
well and we’ll see what the future holds at Boston.”
After the first couple games, “we started to realize what all three of
us can do,” Keller explained. “I’m a passer. [Kieffer] is a shooter. Joey can
do everything. Kiefer’s always getting open when I get the puck. It makes it
easy for me. It’s just a matter of playing our game. So it’s pretty special.”
When I talked to them, both players expressed enthusiasm for putting on
the scarlet and white, and getting the chance to skate with the top-end talent
BU has.
“I’ve gotten to know Charlie from my official visit. I’ve gotten to know
Jordan because his younger brother, JD, is my roommate. I know JFK pretty well.
He’s a good guy. I got to play against him a lot my first year in juniors,”
Bellows said. “From going there on my first visit – I don’t know if Kells feels
the same way – but I felt they were a really close team, and they made us feel
really comfortable, so I feel like we’ll fit right in.”
In pro hockey circles, speculation continues that Keller might defect to
the OHL, where the Windsor Spitfires owns his rights. He recently told NHL.com
that he thinks the chances of him going to Windsor are “slim,” adding that BU
is his “top choice” and “the best fit” for him.
When he spoke to me, he gave no indication of second thoughts to
becoming a Terrier.
“We’re both headed to the [NHL] combine, then the draft, and then it’s
off to BU in July for a month or so to get classes done,” he said. “I know Jordan and Charlie from playing with
them last year. So I’m just looking forward to meeting all the guys and getting
to play and practice with them.”
Here are other highlights from my conversation:
Q: What was your first
contact with BU and what convinced you that was where you wanted to go?
Keller: I can’t remember the
exact date but it was the Select 15 festival in July 2014. That was my first
get-to-know. They reached out to my family advisor and then I went on a visit
that same year. I just really liked the facilities and Coach Quinn and Steve
Greeley, when he was there, really made me feel comfortable, and just seeing
all the great players who have come out of BU. It seemed like a good spot for
me.
Q: Kieffer you mentioned a
few weeks ago you wanted to go to a school where hockey was the main sports.
Bellows: I wanted to go to a
school that’s mainly focused on hockey and you see that with BU. Their fans
just love the game. They’re very passionate about it. My first contact with BU
was right before the tryouts to come here to the U-17 program [in April 2014].
I took a visit out there and I just fell in love with it. I just knew it was
something that I’d really be comfortable with, if I wanted to go there. Then I
took my time and made my decision. I felt like it was the best decision because
I knew if I went there I’d have a better shot at playing in the NHL one day,
with the coaching staff of Quinn and Coach Young and Albie O’Connell.
Q: Did you have any influence
on each other?
Keller: I didn’t know they
were talking to [Kiefer] that much, but obviously I’m looking forward to
playing with him. Last year Chad Krys wasn’t committed and I had a little bit
of influence on him, just trying to get him to go to BU, too. And obviously Jake Oettinger, too. I
tried to get as many guys as I could who would help our team next year.
Q: What has NTDP meant for
you?
Keller: Just being able to
represent your country every day is something that is really special. Not every
kid gets the opportunity to do that at such a young age. And everything they
offer you here, with the weight training, the ice time, the nutrition, is
really special. I think it was a great two years. I was really thankful I got
to play here.
Bellows: It was a little
different coming in during the second year. I can tell I really improved as a
player with all the off-ice training. You have to learn to really respect
everybody around with representing your country every day. It’s something you
may never get the opportunity to do again, so you have to take advantage of
every opportunity.
Q: How much have you gotten
to know the college hockey scene in Boston?
Bellows: The first thing that
pops into your head when you hear college hockey in Boston is the Beanpot. This
year we got to see their first game and it was really cool to see what it’s
actually like. Last year I watched it on TV, but to see it in person was really
cool. To see the student sections and the fans and how much they love the game.
Q: And the BC rivalry? There
are four NTDP players headed to BC, including a guy you may be shooting on,
goalie Joe Woll.
Keller: Obviously they have a
big rivalry and it’s just a battle.
Bellows: It’s funny. Each
goalie from our [NTDP] team is going to each school. We chirp Joe how we’re
going to score on him, and the guys going to BC chirp that they’re going to
score on Jake next year.
Q: Why did you pick the
college hockey route?
Keller: Just playing against
older, stronger players is the biggest thing. Also the weight training in
college is really good, and obviously you get your education. You grow as a
person. I think those are the main things why I chose college.
Bellows: That’s really it. You’re playing against older guys who are
possibly stronger than you. It’s good in case anything ever happens to have a
[college degree] to fall back on. It’s something that a lot of guys don’t
appreciate as much as they should. A degree is something you will need in the
world. My dad played the OHL route. Back in Canada, that was the only route you
did then. He went to college in the summer for like the first 10 years of his
career just so he could get a degree and he’s using that right now. He’s said
that’s probably one of the best decisions of his life to do that.
