Mark Bell (born August 5, 1980) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
coach and a former professional ice hockey
forward. Bell was selected by the
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
in the first round (8th overall) of the
1998 NHL Entry Draft. In the NHL, Bell played for the Blackhawks,
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
,
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
, and
Anaheim Ducks. Later in his career, he played in Switzerland and Germany.
Playing career
Bell started playing hockey at the age of four years, and grew up admiring
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
and
Doug Gilmour
Douglas Robert Gilmour (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for seven different teams. Gilmour was a seventh round selection, 134th overall, of the St. ...
.
He played four seasons in the minor
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...
with the
Ottawa 67's
The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's currently play their h ...
, and was part of the
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...
championship in
1998–99.
Bell was a bronze medalist with
Team Canada at the
2000 World Junior Hockey Championships.
Chicago Blackhawks
He was drafted by the
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
in the
1998 NHL Entry Draft as the eighth overall pick.
He scored his first goal against
Patrick Roy
Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, who serves as the head coach for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2017, Roy was named o ...
.
Bell's time with Chicago was moderately successful, forming a partnership with fellow
Tyler Arnason and
Kyle Calder
Kyle Charles Calder (born January 5, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim D ...
on a line nicknamed the "ABC line".
The trio were considered the future for a rebuilding Blackhawks team, but never met expectations and in 2006, both Bell and Calder would be traded away.
During the
2004–05 NHL lockout, Bell played with the
Trondheim Black Panthers
The Trondheim Black Panthers, founded 18 June 1986 as Trondheim Ishockeyklubb, is a defunct ice hockey club which was based in Trondheim, Norway. They played their home games in Leangen Ishall and were members of the highest ice hockey league in N ...
in the Norwegian
UPC-ligaen, recording 16 goals and 39 points in 36 games. He scored 72 goals and 151 points in 339 games with the Blackhawks and 25 goals and 48 points in his final year.
San Jose Sharks
In the summer of 2006, Bell was traded to the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
in a three-way deal involving Chicago and the
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...
Bell signed a three-year
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
6.5 million contract July 2006. Prior to the start of training camp, Bell was arrested and charged after being in a collision while
driving under the influence (DUI).
He was initially placed on a line with
Joe Thornton and
Jonathan Cheechoo in his first year, but broke a bone in his wrist in the second game of the regular season.
Bell never lived up to expectations and could not duplicate the numbers that he put up in Chicago scoring only 11 times and accumulating 21 points in 71 games and was often a healthy scratch in the playoffs.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Bell was acquired by the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
along with
Vesa Toskala via trade at the
2007 NHL Entry Draft on June 22, 2007 for three draft picks. After becoming part of the Leafs, Bell was then suspended the first 15 games for his DUI conviction. He was reinstated by the NHL and was eligible to play his first game for the Maple Leafs on November 6, 2007.
He played just 35 games with the Maple Leafs, suffering a facial fracture that required surgery and was unable to regain his form. The following year, he failed to break into the team during training camp and on October 6, 2008, Bell was placed on waivers which cleared the way for him being assigned to Toronto's
AHL affiliate, the
Toronto Marlies
The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...
.
New York Rangers
On February 25, 2009, Bell was placed on re-entry waivers by the Maples Leafs and was claimed by the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
. He was then assigned to the Rangers' AHL team, the
Hartford Wolf Pack to make room for fellow waiver claim
Sean Avery
Sean Christopher Avery (born April 10, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. During his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), he played left wing for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and Da ...
who had been claimed from the
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...
. He was not re-signed at the end of the season.
Switzerland
He was invited to
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
training camp on a
professional tryout on September 2.
Bell was released from camp on September 22 after refusing to sign a two-way contract to play in the AHL. On September 28, 2009 he signed with
Nationalliga A club
Kloten Flyers
EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team plays in the National League (NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 year ...
in
Switzerland. He played 108 games in two seasons with Kloten.
During his time in Switzerland, Bell played for
Team Canada at the
2009 and
2010 Spengler Cups.
Anaheim Ducks
On July 20, 2011, Bell signed a one-year two-way contract to return to North America with the
Anaheim Ducks of the NHL. He was invited to the Ducks' training camp, but was assigned to Anaheim's AHL affiliate, the
Syracuse Crunch on September 25, 2011. On January 20, 2012, Bell was recalled from Syracuse. After five games with the Ducks, in which he was scoreless, he was reassigned to the Crunch for the remainder of the season.
Germany
On September 19, 2012, Bell ventured to Europe signing a one-year deal with the
Iserlohn Roosters of the German
DEL
Del, or nabla, is an operator used in mathematics (particularly in vector calculus) as a vector differential operator, usually represented by the nabla symbol ∇. When applied to a function defined on a one-dimensional domain, it denotes ...
. After not being able to renegotiate his contract with the Roosters, Bell signed with the
Eisbären Berlin
Eisbären Berlin (; English: ''Berlin Polar Bears'') is a professional ice hockey team based in Berlin, Germany. The team competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of play in professional German ice hockey, and is also o ...
prior to the 2013–14 season. In the late stages of the 2014–15 season, Bell sustained a
concussion which sidelined him for a while, followed by a long-term ankle injury. These health issues kept him from playing for almost one year, he made his comeback in late January 2016. At the end of the 2015–16 season, Bell retired from professional ice hockey.
Coaching career
In July 2016, Bell joined the coaching staff of the
St. Marys Jr. ‘B’ Lincolns as an assistant.
Legal trouble
During the 2006
Labor Day weekend, in
Milpitas, California
Milpitas ( Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Marà ...
, Bell's rented
Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...
was traveling an estimated when it rear-ended a
pickup truck at a stop sign driven by Jose Luis Villafana, the latter's vehicle being hit up a steep hill and wrapped it around a telephone pole. The victim was uninsured and unlicensed and suffered multiple head, back and leg injuries in the crash. Bell was arrested shortly after walking away from the accident. He blew .201 in a
breathalyzer test about a half-hour after the accident, and a blood test revealed a blood-alcohol level of 0.15, considerably higher than the legal limit of 0.08.
Bell was charged with
hit and run
In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions.
Additional obligation
In many jurisdictions, there may be a ...
and
driving under the influence. Both are
felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
offences. His arraignment was set for January 3, 2007. Bell pleaded
no contest
' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense.
In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...
to drunk driving causing injury and hit-and-run on August 14, 2007. Prior to sentencing, Bell had to pay restitution, including medical bills and the cost of the vehicle to Villafana, who has also filed a civil suit seeking "unlimited damages" which was later settled out of court. He was to serve six months in jail after completing the 2007–08 hockey season but later told to work in a California jail which he did from June 2, 2008 to August 15, 2008.
In addition to his conviction, Bell was placed in Stage 2 of the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse Program and was suspended for 15 games without pay by the NHL on September 12, 2007. NHL commissioner
Gary Bettman justified the suspension, saying "Playing in the National Hockey League is a privilege, and with that privilege comes a corresponding responsibility for exemplary conduct off the ice as well as on it". The NHLPA disagreed, saying "there is no legitimate purpose served by adding a substantial league disciplinary suspension to the severe sanctions that have already been imposed". Leafs general manager
John Ferguson, Jr., who drew criticism for the trade, had anticipated that Bell would face some sort of suspension, however based upon past precedent they did not expect it to be so lengthy. This had been suggested as a sign that the NHL was imposing stricter discipline for off-ice antics of players, after
Michael Vick
Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...
was expelled from the
NFL as a result of his conviction for running a dog-fighting ring.
Bell has stated that as a result of the accident, realizing that his career was slipping away because of his irresponsibility, he had changed his lifestyle and had been sober since then, saying "Now, every day I wake up I realize I'm living a dream. It's taken a while for me to understand that. Now that I have, I'm going to grab it. My fun now is at the rink".
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Mark
1980 births
Living people
Anaheim Ducks players
Arizona Coyotes coaches
Arizona Coyotes scouts
21st-century Canadian criminals
Canadian male criminals
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Norway
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland
Canadian ice hockey left wingers
Chicago Blackhawks draft picks
Chicago Blackhawks players
Eisbären Berlin players
Hartford Wolf Pack players
Ice hockey people from Ontario
Iserlohn Roosters players
EHC Kloten players
National Hockey League first-round draft picks
Norfolk Admirals players
Ottawa 67's players
People from Perth County, Ontario
San Jose Sharks players
Syracuse Crunch players
Toronto Maple Leafs players
Toronto Marlies players
Trondheim Black Panthers players