"Just Keep Trying To Build": New York Rangers 23-Year Old Forward Reflects On His Time With The Organization
Photo credit: Dennis Scheidler-Imagn images
Training camp is winding down, and all 32 NHL teams are optimizing their lineups. Brett Berard is one Rangers forward who hasn't been cut from the lineup yet, and it appears that he is on the cusp of making the team this season. He reflected on the journey that brought him to Madison Square Garden.
Last season, Brett Berard was the new kid on the block. Arriving at training camp as a relative unknown, he'd soon make a name for himself during the regular season, though.
As a call-up, he had a small sample size of success and would give the Rangers a reason to move him up the depth charts.
For Berard, this time around the ride is different, but the goal is the same:
«I think I feel a little more comfortable knowing all the guys and having been here kind of half the year last year, up and down, but feel like I've built some great relationships upon everybody,» Berard said. «So it's definitely been a lot more comfortable being here, but the same mentality coming in, still trying to fight for a spot and to stick around. I mean, mentality wise, on the ice, it's the same new coaching staff, big first impression. So in that regard, the same, but definitely more comfortable off the ice with the guys in lock and all that stuff.»
The former 5th-round pick would be regularly called up from the AHL last season and played 35 games with the Rangers, scoring 10 points (6-4).
Berard would learn the side of the business he hadn't seen in the AHL, as he would jump between both leagues.
«I mean it stinks to get sent down. Obviously, your dream is to get to the NHL and kind of stay around here,» Berard said. «I think I definitely got a lot stronger mentally with that stuff and trying to go down there and work in my game and to get back up. It was hard, but I think definitely that I got better as the year went on, and then just learning what I did up here, the game is faster. Just keep trying to build and get better at that and take pride in it. So it's some things I've been focused on that I think I'm getting better at.»
Like his defensive counterpart, Braden Schneider, he'd suffer a torn labrum early into his debut. Instead of taking time off and healing, he'd play through the pain. An unfortunate circumstance for the forward who would have to give up the idea of playing in the World Championships as a result.
««It stunk, but I give a lot of credit to our trainers and getting me able to play. It took a lot to get used to tape and brace on my shoulder,» said Berard. «Getting to play in the NHL, it's a dream growing up. When you finally get here, you don't want anything to set you back. It was something that I could play through and that I wanted to play through and needed to play through. I feel like I was playing really good hockey at that point too, so was just trying to get back as fast as possible and grind through it.»
Berard, while 5-foot-9, plays a gritty style of hockey that has won over the newest coach of the Rangers, Mike Sullivan.
His ferocity has caught the eye of Sullivan, and he is poised to earn a permanent spot with the Rangers this year.
The former 5th-round pick would be an obvious choice for the Rangers in the bottom six. His effort on the ice last year was obvious, and he should be one prospect who wins a spot on the 2025-26 roster.
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