Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris that left at least 129 killed and 352 injured left an impact that was not just felt in France, but the rest of the world as well.
That impact is also being felt in the Flyers' dressing room. One of a handful of French-born players to ever play in the NHL, Bellemare was born in the nearby village of Le Blanc-Mesnil and raised in the City of Lights. His family still makes their home in the area.
Bellemare is also playing in his first game since Oct. 27 tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. Speaking to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Sam Carchidi, Bellemare offered some insight on the attacks.
Somehow, this whole news kind of put my game into perspective," he said of the killings. "Whatever happened to me the last two weeks….it's kind of somehow less important You don't think about yourself anymore at all. I don't even think about the game so much tonight. I haven't focused about anything else, really," except the tragedy.
Fortunately for Bellemare, his family and friends that call Paris home were unaffected by the attacks.
"I called my sister; she was far away from there. That's a good thing," he said, adding he checked on his friends on their Facebook pages and found out there were not affected, "so it makes you feel kind of more relaxed about it."
Bellemare, who last season became the ninth France-born player to reach the NHL, said he was "shocked" by the killings. "You don't expect those things to happen. It's terrible," he said. "You just try to give your support to the people."
The 30-year-old Bellemare has played in 89 career games over the past two seasons, in addition to his lengthy career in the Swedish League. Saturday's game will surely be one of the most emotional that he's ever played in.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
