Shot Left Role Ice hockey player Career end 1987 Name Neil Belland Career start 1981 | Playing career Weight 82 kg NHL Draft Undrafted Height 1.80 m Positions Defenseman | |
Born April 3, 1961 (age 63)
Parry Sound, ON, CAN ( 1961-04-03 ) Played for Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
Neil G. Belland (born April 3, 1961 in Parry Sound, Ontario) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player.
Playing career
Neil Belland played his junior hockey with the Kingston Canadians of the OMJHL from 1978–1981, putting up some solid numbers, as he recorded 182 points (43 goals-139 assists) in 171 games, including a huge 1980–81 season where Belland had 82 points (28G-54A) in only 53 games. He added on 16 points (8G-8A) in 25 career playoff games. Belland went undrafted, but was signed by the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent on October 1, 1980.
Belland would start the 1981–82 season with the Dallas Black Hawks of the CHL, where in 27 games he put up 22 points (2G-20A) before being called up by the Canucks. Belland would play 28 games with Vancouver, earning 9 points (3G-6A). He would help the Canucks in the playoffs to the tune of 8 points (1G-7A) in 17 games as Vancouver would make it to the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the powerhouse New York Islanders. Belland would split the 1982–83 season between Vancouver, where in 14 games he had 6 points (2G-4A), and the Fredericton Express of the AHL, as he had 21 points (4G-17A) in 46 games, then chipped in with 3 points (1G-2A) in 7 playoff games. Once again in 1983–84, Belland would split time between the Express, where in 17 games he registered 18 points (3G-15A), before getting 20 points (7G-13A) in 44 games with Vancouver. He then added 3 points (1G-2A) in 4 playoff games with the Canucks. 1984–85 would be more of the same for Belland, as he would again spend time with both Fredericton, getting 41 points (7G-34A) in 57 games, along with 2 assists in 6 playoff games, and Vancouver, earning 6 assists in 13 regular season games, and then again in 1985–86, where Belland put up 3 points (1G-2A) in 7 games with the Canucks, and 24 points (6G-18A) in 36 games with Fredericton, then helping out with 7 points (1G-6A) in 6 playoff games with the Express. After the season, Belland became a free agent, and signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 29, 1986.
Belland would spend most of the 1986–87 season with the Penguins AHL affiliate, the Baltimore Skipjacks, where in 61 games, Belland recorded 24 points (6G-18A), while in 3 games with the Penguins, he would earn an assist. He would become a free agent once again after the season, and decided to head over to Finland to play with Lukko Rauma in the SM-liiga. Belland would get 22 points (8G-14A) in 44 games before going pointless in 8 playoff games, then would join the Hershey Bears of the AHL for a playoff game, getting no points.
He would then sign with Innsbruck EV of the Austrian League for the 1988–89 season, putting up 56 points (17G-39A) in 46 games, then returned for the 1989–90 season, earning 53 points (15G-38A) in 34 games. Belland would split the 1990–91 season with Innsbruck, getting 12 points (5G-7A) in 17 games, and the Canadian National Hockey Team, where in 9 games he would garner 4 assists. Belland returned to Austria in 1991–92 to play with ATSE Graz, earning 22 points (11G-11A) in 28 games, then play 1 game for EC Graz in 1992–93, getting no points, before returning for the 1993–94 season, picking up 37 points (8G-29A) in 57 games. Belland would then retire from playing hockey in the summer of 1994.