Rangers Draft [LW] Brett Berard in 5th Rd. (134th) Pick

[Drew a Penalty]

Name: Brett Berard

Position: LW

Shoots: L

Current Team: Providence (NCAA)

 

 

Elite Prospects Profile: https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/201740/brett-berard

 

 

Current Statistics

HockeyDB.com Page: https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=217360

Team Player Page: https://friars.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/roster/brett-berard/5507

 

Berard packs high-octane offensive talent into a 5-foot-9 package. He sees an opportunity to shoot, pass, or support, and he immediately acts. He's a dual-threat attacker with a bit of skill beyond the offence. He layers deception through false signals sent to the opposition with his eyes and through his body language. He works the puck through the defensive triangle.

 

Link: https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/201740/brett-berard

 

"That's when I got to go on the ice and practice with the team," said Brett, who will play at Providence in the fall. "There was no contact, of course, but I was able to skate some of the drills with them."

 

Playing with bigger, faster players was an obvious help to young Brett's skills, but his immersion in his dad's program also gave him a hockey IQ well beyond his years.

 

"Being a coach's son meant he came to the NTDP with a solid understanding about how to play the game of hockey," coach Seth Appert said.

 

Though Berard's parents have been a boon to his career, there's one challenge he's had to face on his own, overcoming his diminutive stature. He didn't have far to look for a role model.

 

"As an undersized guy, I'm trying to play like (5-9, 181-pound Boston Bruins forward) Brad Marchand," he said. "He doesn't take anything from anyone, no matter how big they are, and he's a great offensive player."

 

Link: https://www.nhl.com/news/2020-nhl-draft-brett-berard-impressing-usa-hockey/c-315863022

[Drew a Penalty]

I feel like this could end up a fun pick. Unfortunate that he'll likely be sitting out for a while but Providence has a solid program whenever they get going again. The Rangers have missed on a lot of would-be agitators in drafts over the years so fingers crossed Berard turns out to be the one. I think there are at least more skills here than some of other attempts i.e. Kovacs, Lakatos, etc.

[Drew a Penalty]

Berard was a top scorer on the U.S. NTDP. He’s a very smart player offensively who can make high-end plays and create off the perimeter. I was very impressed by his skill level initially, although I felt the offensive consistency wasn’t there in the second half. Berard is competitive, shows no fear in engaging and can irritate the opposition. As a 5-foot-9 player with good but not great speed or skill, it’s fair to ask if he has enough in his toolkit to project into the NHL. His advocates would point out he’s a week away from being 2021 eligible and still had a good season.

 

Seth Appert, coach of U.S. NTDP U18, on Berard: “He’s crafty, he’s smart. He developed an agitating style to his game. He goes to hard areas.”

 

https://theathletic.com/2089328/2020/10/07/grading-the-rangers-2020-nhl-draft-what-we-know-about-new-yorks-class/

[BlairBettsBlocksEverything]

I only watched the first two periods against Russia last night and I only saw him on one shift, and he made a great play to set up a teammate that whiffed, which then lead to the Russians scoring. Was hoping he’d get more ice time than that

[josh]

I only watched the first two periods against Russia last night and I only saw him on one shift, and he made a great play to set up a teammate that whiffed, which then lead to the Russians scoring. Was hoping he’d get more ice time than that

 

Played a bit more and helped create a goal later.

Good to see him have some good shift. That line can really buzz and create havoc.

 

He’s 1 of 2 forward that’s not a first or 2nd round pick, and most are a year older.

[Keirik]

It’s against Austria but kid is having a game and a half tonight....

[BlairBettsBlocksEverything]

He's buzzing today too. Looking like we got a steal

[Long live the King]

I watched about 5 seconds of that Austria game, but happened to catch the goal he scored and heard the announcers talk about how when he arrived at the Development team they told him to model his game after Marchand and be tough to play against. Also said how the coaches re-named a back check drill the "Berard drill" due to his lack of back checking. He called his dad (also a coach) to complain about it and his dad's answer was, "Well I guess you better start listening to your coaches." The Development team loved what he showed following.

[siddious]

Judging by his wj performance this pick was a steal in the 5th round. Hopefully he can translate to the NHL.

 

 

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[lefty9]

First lets hope he translate this level of play to the college level

[siddious]

Scored his first collegiate goal

 

https://twitter.com/heresyourreplay/status/1347710120336232448?s=21

 

 

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[Dunny]

That's some top quality goaltending right there

[siddious]

That's some top quality goaltending right there

 

Pucks on net baby

 

 

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[TwoMinutesForNothing]

1 game, 2 goals.

I think as the year goes on this draft class vs the 2021 class is going the showcase the disparity in the organizational scouting and drafting changes.  This class continues to look exceptional while the 2021 class appears to be a bunch of nonsense.   

[Pete]

5 hours ago, TwoMinutesForNothing said:

the 2021 class appears to be a bunch of nonsense.  

Please unpack this more for us, as the 2021 class has barely played after being drafted. 

[Long live the King]

There were also limited opportunities for scouting leading up to the 2021 draft.

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

Rangers also had 1 pick in the top 60.

[siddious]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

Please unpack this more for us, as the 2021 class has barely played after being drafted. 

Yea seems a bit pre-mature. Our #1 pick just left camp a few days ago for example and looked pretty decent. 

[shestYORKin]

thing is, we didn’t draft 7 centers 

[Albatrosss]

6 hours ago, siddious said:

Yea seems a bit pre-mature. Our #1 pick just left camp a few days ago for example and looked pretty decent. 

i thought he was invisible.  not a knock, just sayin'

[siddious]

7 minutes ago, CCCP said:

i thought he was invisible.  not a knock, just sayin'

Not sticking out in a bad way is better than being bad. He’s 18 and by all expectations was thought to need development. So no complaints here. 

[Pete]

We've regressed to judging players in rookie camp and pre-season.

[Albatrosss]

7 minutes ago, siddious said:

Not sticking out in a bad way is better than being bad. He’s 18 and by all expectations was thought to need development. So no complaints here. 

i just didnt think he was in any way decent.  but i could care less, he's just 18

[Cash or Czech]

9 minutes ago, Pete said:

We've regressed to judging players in rookie camp and pre-season.

Can you regress if you haven't gotten past that?

[Pete]

1 minute ago, Xander said:

Can you regress if you haven't gotten past that?

I feel like we used to wait until at least the D+1 before declaring someone wasn't worth the pick.

Only McIlrath in recent memory bucked that trend. And all the people who crapped on the pick were right.