Brett Berard enters this year’s rookie camp as one of the top prospects in the New York Rangers organization. The 22-year-old forward is looking to build on a strong rookie pro season, and maybe even earn a spot on the Rangers roster.
To that end, Berard had the help of long-time friend and 2023 Calder Trophy winner Matty Beniers over the course of the summer. The two were teammates who helped the United States win the gold medal at the 2021 World Junior Championship.
“It was awesome,” Berard said Thursday. “He’s been my best friend pretty much my whole life. I’ve been playing hockey with him since I was six or seven years old. We played every team from then until college. It was cool to learn the things that he’s learned in his first couple of years pro and in the NHL. It was an awesome experience living with him, working out, and skating in Boston.”
Beniers, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Seattle Kraken, was named NHL rookie of the year in 2022-23, when he scored 24 goals and finished with 57 points in 80 games. Last season, the 21-year-old forward dropped off to 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists) in 77 games.
So, there’s quite a bit Berard can learn from his buddy about the ups and downs of life in the NHL.
Berard played well with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League last season, scoring 25 goals and finishing with 48 points in 71 games. He led the team, and was second among AHL rookies, in goals. Berard then added a goal and five assists in 10 Calder Cup Playoff games.
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Brett Berard learning from fellow prospects, veterans
While working out with Beniers this summer, Berard bulked up some, adding weight to his 5-foot-9 frame.
“I put on a couple more pounds, I’m just under 180 pounds now, which is nice,” Berard explained. “And skating, that’s kind of the big thing I’ve been working on is my speed. You can never be too fast. My powerful stride, I’m trying to use that to my advantage. It’s something that I definitely worked on a lot this summer and hopefully it translates on the ice.”
While top Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann may get the first nod at a roster spot, Berard is right there with him after opening eyes with such a strong season in 2023-24. The two highly-touted Ranger prospects have gotten close through development camps and their time together in Hartford, and would love to be teammates together on Broadway one day.
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Othmann got a crack at the NHL last season, playing limited minutes in three games. Berard was a part of the Rangers taxi squad along with Othmann throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but has yet to make his NHL debut.
“When guys go up (to the NHL) and come down, you kind of just see what it was like, see how the speed of the game is, and just get what they say from it,” Berard explained. “I got really close with (Othmann) over the last few development camps and last year, too. I was super happy and proud of him. It was cool to pick his brain. You try to pick guys’ brains who have been around for a while, especially the veterans on the team like Louis Domingue, Ben Harpur, Riley Nash.”
It seems as though Berard has a solid grasp on what it is going to take for him to crack the NHL. While he is likely to start the season with Hartford, he could be one of the first few players in line should the Rangers deal with injury or look to their younger options to fill holes, either in the top six or bottom six.
If the hard work and patience pays off, Berard might even find himself going toe-to-toe with his best friend Beniers sooner rather than later.
