BUFFALO, NY – The New York Islanders have selected Kieffer Bellows in the first round, 19th overall, of the 2016 National Hockey League Draft. General Manager Garth Snow and Head Amateur Scout Vellu Kautonen announced the pick live at First Niagara Center.
Bellows, 18, scored 81 points (50 goals, 31 assists) in 62 games with the United States National Team Development Program. He finished second on the club in scoring and became just the fourth player to score 50 goals in a season with the U.S. Under-18 team, joining Auston Matthews, Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel.
“We are thrilled to add a player of Kieffer’s caliber to our organization,” General Manager Garth Snow said. “He’s a strong, skilled forward who’s posted impressive goal totals throughout his career.”
A native of Edina, MN, Bellows helped Edina High School secure its second straight Minnesota Class 2A state championship in 2014. The following season, he was named United States Hockey League Rookie of the Year and led the Sioux Falls Stampede to a Clark Cup title, scoring 52 points (33 goals, 19 assists) in 58 regular-season games.
On the international stage, Bellows won a bronze medal with the U.S. at the 2016 Under-18 World Championships, scoring eight points (five goals, three assists) in seven games.
His father is longtime NHL forward Brian Bellows, who won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 and totaled 1,022 points in 1,188 career regular-season games with five teams.
This marked the first time in franchise history that the Islanders picked 19th overall.
