Rookie Rangers prospect Brett Berard a key to Wolf Pack’s hopes of making a championship run
WEST HARTFORD — The AHL can be an unforgiving place for its youngest hockey players. Everywhere one looks, or skates, there are veterans, hungry to get to the big leagues after years in the minors, or hungrier still to make it back for one more chance.
So when left winger Brett Berard, 21, started in Hartford with the Wolf Pack, fresh out of college, he had much to learn, much to prove. But one thing was clear in a hurry: “He has a no-fear attitude about making plays,” said Wolf Pack coach Steve Smith. “And about getting to the net, getting to hard areas. It’s paying off for him.”
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Berard, from East Greenwich, R.I., played at Providence College with his younger brother, Brady. Their father, David Berard, played and coached at Providence, was interim head coach at UConn in 2012-13, and later head coach at Holy Cross and is now at Stonehill. So it’s easy to see where Brett gets his fearless feel for the game. The Wolf Pack’s leader with 25 goals, Berard’s playoff series against his hometown team, the Providence Bruins, tied 1-1, continues at the XL Center on Wednesday night, with Game 4 to follow Friday. With the college season over, the Berard hockey clan will be in Hartford in full force.
“My Dad’s been a coach all my life, so I’ve always been around the rink,” Berard said, after the Wolf Pack practice at Veterans Memorial Rink on Tuesday. “Having a brother so close in age, only 18 months apart, it’s always good to have battles with him, good and bad battles, so he’s been a huge help for me in my career, being able to compete with him every day. It’s something I use to my advantage as well, being fearless.”
At 5 feet 9 and 165 pounds, Berard is a little undersized, which may be why the Rangers were able to get him in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft. He developed his game at Providence, playing 91 games in three years, with 33 goals and 39 assists, then signed a three-year, entry level contact with the Rangers after the college season ended in 2023, playing the last month in Hartford, getting a taste of the pro game at a high level. Berard, earning $867,000 this season, is the first Wolf Pack rookie since Ryan Callahan in 2007 to finish in the top three in the AHL in goals. Of his 25 goals, 14 are even strength, two shorthanded, nine on the power play and eight have been game-winners.
“Brett’s worked hard at his game each and every day,” Smith said. “It’s not just the game component to what he’s done but what he does in practice and off ice, and the commitment he’s made to getting better at his skill set. He drives pucks to the net. His motor has gone all season, he has an offensive thrust that’s hard to teach.”
A shorthanded, breakaway for your 1st career Calder Cup Playoffs goal? We see you, Beebs
pic.twitter.com/miKzC5SslE
— x – Hartford Wolf Pack (@WolfPackAHL) April 28, 2024
Throughout this season, he has been rising on the lists of Rangers top prospects. The Athletic ranked him third in the organization in mid-February, much higher than Berard appeared in other preseason rankings.
“Pretty much all of my game has grown,” Berard said. “You’ve got to adjust coming from college, everyone is so much better, and every team is good. Every team has good players and abilities. For me it’s just to take it day by day and not get ahead of myself. My speed is something I try to use to my advantage, just be aware of who is on the ice and your positioning in the D-zone, all over, and trying to learn it. Watch video and learn from that. Overall, I think it’s been a good year and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Berard hit his scoring stride around the first of the year, with goals in three consecutive games between Dec. 30 and Jan. 6. He scored two goals against Cleveland on Jan. 26, and picked up his first pro hat trick against the Bruins on March 8 just as the Wolf Pack were beginning their playoff drive.
“He stepped up for us when we had a lot of bodies missing,” said 15-year pro Riley Nash, 34, who was out with a midseason injury. “He’s put the puck in the net a lot. He has the puck a lot every night and he’s making good decisions with it.”
Double dose of good #NYR prospect news: Brennan Othmann healthy & Brett Berard two more assists in @WolfPackAHL win last night in #CalderCup playoffs
The deets are here
https://t.co/bKfRmpTT9O
— Jim Cerny (@JimCerny) May 2, 2024
Berard has a goal and four assists in five playoff games, as Hartford swept three games at Charlotte in the first round, and split the first two of the current series in Providence. The Bruins evened the series with a 6-0 victory in Game 2.
“You’ve got to keep a level head and realize it is the playoffs and everyone’s dialing it in a little more,” Berard said. “Everyone’s playing their best game right now, so it is harder to generate chances. No matter how many chances you get, you’ve got to bear down when you do because you never know when the next one’s going to come.”
In the AHL, Berard’s dynamic style, his speed and fearlessness, compensate for any disadvantage that comes with his size. To take the next step to the NHL and join the loaded Rangers, currently on an impressive playoff run of their own, Berard needs to polish his skills, work on the nuances.
“I feel like his wall play has improved during the course of the year,” said Smith, who has been in the game as player and coach for more than 40 years. “Finding, blocking shots, figuring out his defensive responsibilities, making more low-risk plays than high-risk plays, it’s just all in the details. And that’s why young guys come into this league, to learn these things, make some of these mistakes and it makes them better.”