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Luca Del Bel Belluz

Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Luca Del Bel Belluz

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The American Hockey League’s highest-scoring player is headed to the NHL. The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they’ve recalled Luca Del Bel Belluz from their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.

Del Bel Belluz is 34 games through the second professional season of his career and is becoming quite the prospect in the Blue Jackets organization. He’s scored 17 goals and 20 assists in those games and although he doesn’t lead the AHL in either category he is leading in total production.

It’s a significant step forward for the 21-year-old drafted 44th overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2022 NHL Draft. Del Bel Belluz has already blown past the final production of his rookie campaign last year when he scored nine goals and 31 points in 58 contests.

Given that AHL Cleveland only has a +8 goal differential through the first 34 games, it’s a testament to Del Bel Belluz’s development on the defensive side of the puck that he’s managed a +9 rating through this point in the regular season. He’ll likely play in the second game of his career with Columbus tomorrow night should Sean Monahan’s upper-body injury keep him out of the lineup.

Another bonus for Del Bel Belluz this year is that he’ll compete for a playoff spot no matter where he’s at. The Monsters are only one point back of the North Division-leading Rochester Americans while the Blue Jackets are holding on to the final wild-card spot in the tightly wound Eastern Conference.

Blue Jackets Reassign Seven Players

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Oct. 5: The five players mentioned below were returned to AHL Cleveland this morning, along with goaltender Jet Greaves and center Owen Sillinger, per the team.

Oct. 4: For the second time in the past few days, the Blue Jackets have summoned some reinforcements from AHL Cleveland to get another crack in exhibition play after previously being cut from their training camp roster. Defensemen Cole Clayton and Stanislav Svozil were part of a round of recalls a few days back and are now again on the NHL roster, while centers Luca Del Bel Belluz and Hunter McKown and left wing James Malatesta are joining them today as well, the team announced. The quintet will suit up for Columbus tonight as they take on the Penguins in their final preseason game.

Clayton’s, McKown’s, and Svozil’s standings in the organization were covered during their roster moves earlier this week. But the 20-year-old Del Bel Belluz getting another look this late in camp isn’t wholly insignificant. The 6’0″ pivot was a second-round pick in 2022 and, thanks to his November birthday, was eligible for a full-time AHL assignment last year. The Blue Jackets took advantage, placing the youngster on the farm with Cleveland. He impressed, finishing sixth on the team in scoring with 31 points (9 G, 22 A) in 58 games.

There remain some concerns over his defensive game, but it was a strong initial showing on the scoresheet for Del Bel Belluz, who likely warranted a late first-round selection in his draft year. He made his NHL debut in Columbus’ final game of the 2023-24 season against the Hurricanes, scoring his first NHL goal in 9:35 of ice time.

Meanwhile, Malatesta got a bit of a longer look at the NHL level last season, with a rash of injuries creating opportunities for some of Columbus’ younger forwards. The 21-year-old Montreal native didn’t look entirely out of place, posting two goals and two assists for four points with a -1 rating in 11 games. He managed 12 shots on goal and a whopping 41 hits – nearly four per game – while averaging 10:13 per night. The 2021 fifth-round pick is a strong skater and a true energy winger, playing much bigger than his 5’9″, 190-lb frame would indicate. He had 12 goals and 22 points in 56 games for Cleveland last year in his first taste of professional hockey.

Transaction Notes: Coghlan, Comtois, Del Bel Belluz, Silovs, Rondbjerg

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Now that the Carolina Hurricanes have officially clinched the second spot in the Metropolitan Division, the organization has opted to sit a multitude of players for the team’s game tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. With several spots in the lineup open, the team has called up defenseman Dylan Coghlan and forward Max Comtois from the Springfield Thunderbirds and Chicago Wolves, respectively.

Coghlan has been a part of the Hurricanes organization for the last two years, coming over from the Vegas Golden Knights in a trade including Max Pacioretty. Although he played 17 games in Carolina last season, tonight will mark the first time that Coghlan has suited up for the Hurricanes this season. A strong performer in AHL Springfield, Coghlan has scored 16 goals and 41 points in 59 games and is sitting second on the team in scoring overall.

Comtois, on the other hand, is in his first season with the Hurricanes organization after spending the last five years with the Anaheim Ducks. Failing to become a consistent goal-scorer in Orange County, Comtois had to settle for an AHL contract in AHL Chicago this past offseason. Appearing to reacquire some of his offensive talents, Comtois has scored 19 goals and 43 points in 62 games for the Wolves this season, which may be enough to earn him a league-minimum contract on an NHL roster next year.

Other transaction notes:

  • Preparing to make his NHL debut this evening, the Blue Jackets have recalled forward Luca Del Bel Belluz from their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. With forward Dmitri Voronkov out of tonight’s game due to illness, Del Bel Belluz could end up centering the third line with newcomer Gavin Brindley. In his first season playing for the Blue Jackets organization, the former 44th overall selection has scored nine goals and 30 points over 55 games in the AHL this year.
  • Now that goaltender Thatcher Demko is preparing to return to the active roster, the Vancouver Canucks have sent down goalie Arturs Silovs to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Throughout his recall, Silovs only suited up in four games for the Canucks, and performed adequately in limited time. Over those four games, Silovs produced a 3-0-1 record, securing a .881 SV% which was largely brought down due to giving up four goals on 18 shots against the Arizona Coyotes.
  • For now the 11th time this season, the Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forward Jonas Rondbjerg from their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. Due to the numerous amount of recalls this year, Rondbjerg has managed 18 games for the Golden Knights this season, scoring one goal and three points overall. At the AHL level, Rondbjerg has suited up in 48 games for the Silver Knights, scoring nine goals and 27 points in the process.

Metropolitan Notes: Joseph, Nedeljkovic, Ruff, Del Bel Belluz

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While it had been believed that defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph has been a frequent healthy scratch lately, it turns out that isn’t exactly the case.  Head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters including Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now that he’d have liked to reinsert the blueliner in their lineup tonight against Carolina but Joseph is dealing with a lower-body injury.  It’s an issue that he has been dealing with for a little while which helps explain why he hasn’t played over the last couple of weeks.  The 24-year-old has played in five games so far this season, picking up an assist while averaging a little over 13 minutes a night.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Still with the Penguins, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports (Twitter link) that Alex Nedeljkovic has been recalled from his LTIR conditioning stint. The 27-year-old is working his way back from a lower-body injury and stopped 17 of 19 shots in a victory on Friday night.  Nedeljkovic also scored an empty-netter in that game, making him the first goalie in AHL history to have scored two career goals.
  • While Lindy Ruff has done well behind the bench in New Jersey, he nearly didn’t get the opportunity to coach there. Ryan Novozinsky of The Star-Ledger notes that Ruff was not on GM Tom Fitzgerald’s original shortlist of eight candidates to take over the head coach position back in 2020 but one of Fitzgerald’s friends encouraged him to interview Ruff.  The Devils set a franchise record for points last season, helping earn him a multi-year contract extension last month.
  • The OHL rights to Blue Jackets prospect Luca Del Bel Belluz have been acquired by Saginaw, per a team release. The 20-year-old is in his first professional season with AHL Cleveland and has fared well in his limited action so far, collecting two goals and three assists in six games.  Saginaw is hosting the Memorial Cup this year and if Columbus decides that they want Del Bel Belluz to go back and get top-line minutes, they’ll be sending him to a team that’s loading up for what should be a long playoff run.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Luca Del Bel Belluz, James Malatesta

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have added another pair of talented youngsters to the organization, signing Luca Del Bel Belluz and James Malatesta to three-year, entry-level contracts. Del Bel Belluz is currently playing with the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL, while Malatesta is with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, where they will both remain for the rest of the season.

Del Bel Belluz, selected 44th overall in this year’s draft, was considered at one point as a potential first-round talent. The 19-year-old center has actually had a rather disappointing season so far, despite still scoring at a good pace. His 26 points in 21 games aren’t quite what many expected in his third full OHL season, especially after the pace he scored at in his draft year. There’s still plenty of time for the super-skilled forward to develop, and he’ll join a Columbus system that is packed full of offensive talent.

Another entry in that group is Malatesta, the 5’9″ forward with 19 goals in 23 games so far. Selected in the fifth round in 2021, he has bounced back nicely after some struggles last season and is once again one of the most dangerous players in the league when given space to operate. While there is still lots of work to do before Malatesta sniffs the NHL, earning an entry-level deal is a good start.

Neither player will count toward the Blue Jackets’ 50-player limit this season and neither one will burn the first year of their contract. Del Bel Belluz only turned 19 a few weeks ago, meaning his contract could slide again next season as well.

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