2025 Rangers Season Previews: Brett Berard

This article is part of an ongoing series of Rangers Season Previews, taking a close look at what we can, and should, expect from each member of the 2025-26 New York Rangers. To read other articles in this series, go here.

"I feel like it was just last month [that] I was moving into my apartment there in Hartford—if you told me at the beginning of the year that I would play 35 games in the NHL, I'd take that. It was a dream come true," said Brett Berard during his exit day interview.

The soon-to-be 23-year-old East Greenwich, R.I. native may see that dream become a permanent reality shortly, as we inch closer to the 2025-26 regular season.

The Injury That Defined a Season (Previous Performance)

In my opinion, what makes Brett Berard's 35-game stint remarkable is that for 88.5 percent of it, he was playing with a torn labrum. The injury itself unfortunately occurred during what was only his fourth NHL game on Nov. 30, when Montreal Canadiens center Kirby Dach delivered a hit that Berard would later describe as "normal."

Speaking to Vince Mercogliano of Lohud.com at the third annual Shoulder Check Showcase at Terry Conners Rink, Berard said:

"It's one of those things where you're up in the NHL and you work your whole life for it. I felt like I was playing pretty good hockey, too, so you don't want to really lose that. So I just tried to play through it."

Rather than shut it down and risk losing his spot, Berard strapped on a shoulder brace and, much like Virginia-based rap duo Clipse, he kept on grinding. Six goals, four assists, and an indelible two-goal performance against the Islanders later, he'd proven his point.

The math is simple: Berard's 0.17 goals per game (while injured) projects to 14 goals over a full, healthy season—and for a bottom-six forward, that'd be decent production.

For an undersized fifth round pick who wasn't supposed to be here? It's quite enticing.

Size Doesn't Matter When You Won't Quit (Expectations)

At just 5-9 and 175 pounds, Brett Berard doesn't fit the prototypical NHL forward mold.

Outside of PTO invitee Conor Sheary, he's the shortest player on the Rangers and nearly 100 pounds lighter than heavyweight fan favorite Matt Rempe.

Yet that size disadvantage becomes irrelevant when you watch Brett work. His relentless motor and tenacity in forechecking make him an ideal candidate for new head coach Mike Sullivan's up-tempo system—the same system which ironically helped the similarly sized Sheary capture two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh.

"Everything I've heard about him is awesome," Berard told Vince Mercogliano. "I think I do things that he likes from his players." Luckily for Berard, Sullivan's philosophy runs parallel to his journey.

"What I will tell you is that I think it's important that every player earns their opportunities, that no one's entitled to an opportunity," Sullivan said to reporters during his introductory press conference, as reported by ESPN. For a player who went from 134th overall pick to NHL contributor through sheer determination, this message resonates and rings true.

Moreover, Sullivan's likely implementation of a 1-2-2 forecheck represents a major tactical shift from Peter Laviolette's more passive 2-3 approach, as the 1-2-2 demands aggressive pressure and pursuit—qualities that define Berard's game. Even as recently as 2021-22 and 2022-23, Sullivan's Penguins teams ranked in the 93rd and 99th percentiles, respectively, for speed metrics per NHL EDGE—proof that pace of play remains as one of the main pillars within Sullivan's overarching axiom while behind the bench.

"Talent alone doesn't win championships. Teams win championships," Mike Sullivan told NHL.com. For a player who recorded six goals while playing through injury, Brett Berard embodies the team-first, earn-it-daily mentality Sullivan demands.

The Competition: Less Daunting Than It Appears (Predictions)

In addition to Berard, two former first round picks in Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault are also gunning for bottom-six roles, with Othmann's 6-0, 195 pound frame offering an obvious advantage in physicality, which the Rangers have begun to favor as of late.

Sheary's reunion with Sullivan adds another wrinkle, while Taylor Raddysh's new two-year deal and Jonny Brodzinski's incumbent status further crowd the picture.

However, the numbers tell a different story.

Othmann managed just two assists in 22 NHL games, despite his pedigree. Gabe Perreault, the 23rd overall pick in 2023, went pointless across five NHL games. Sheary managed a measly 15 points in his last 62 games with Tampa Bay, before being placed on waivers. For context, Berard's 10 NHL points exceed both Othmann and Perreault combined, as well as both Rempe and Edstrom, who played more games this past season for New York.

Moreover, the June trade of Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks fundamentally altered the Rangers' forward depth chart. Initially, players like Berard, Othmann, and, to a lesser extent, Perreault, were in competition for bottom-six minutes. But with Kreider gone and the March departure of Reilly Smith, this competition has evolved into something more significant.

In a nutshell, Brett Berard represents exceptional value for a cap-strapped Rangers team. His development trajectory—from a fifth round pick to leading Hartford with 25 goals in 2023-24 to NHL contributor—is still ascending.

In the salary cap era, where every dollar counts, and finding value is paramount to building a contender, Berard represents the exact type of forward that championship-caliber teams tend to have lurking amongst their bottom six. Additionally, many underlying metrics reveal just how exceptional this value truly is: His 0.97 G/60 ranks fifth among all Rangers forwards, while his remarkable 76.92 percent individual points percentage uncovers a player who isn't on the ice strictly for cardiovascular exercise, but one who actively drives offense any chance that he gets.

The math becomes more compelling when you realize that Brett Berard outperformed his expected goals by 1.23, he maintained a healthy 10.17 percent shooting percentage, and roughly half of Berard's scoring chances came from high-danger areas.

This isn't luck, folks; it's intelligent offensive positioning from a player who understands how to maximize limited opportunities.

Beyond the scoresheet, Berard's penalty differential and ratio of penalties drawn to taken provide hidden value that doesn't show up in traditional statistics, and when you consider that he's producing at a middle-six forward rate (1.62 points per 60) while playing fourth-line minutes without any power play time, it appears like the Rangers found a $3-4 million player at a fraction of the cost.

Teams in the NHL will routinely overpay for "grit" and "depth scoring," and with Berard still on his entry-level deal it represents the holy grail of roster construction: a young player, in the midst of constant improvement, who can slide up or down the lineup given an injury to another player, and does so while leaving the Rangers cap space to invest elsewhere.

All this production, remember, came while playing through a torn labrum for 31 of his 35 games—imagine what a healthy Berard might accomplish over an entire NHL season.

The Bottom Line

Jonny Brodzinski said it best after watching Berard score against Nashville last season.

"Playing with Beebs and Otter, love those guys," Brodzinski said to Jonny Lazarus of Daily Faceoff. "Especially Beebs getting sent back down—he was extremely bummed with that. I just told him, 'You're gonna get another shot.' Happy to see him put one in the back of the net, and you could see it didn't matter if that game was 8-0, he was still going to celebrate like that. That's just the type of personality that he's got. He's fiery. It's awesome."

The Rangers spent last season looking lifeless, gutless, and directionless. Berard, playing through an injury that would sideline most players, was one of the (very) few who showed up consistently. In training camp, where Sullivan will be searching for players who embody his never-quit mentality, that should count for something.

As a matter of fact, it should count for everything.

Snark's Verdict: Brett Berard makes the opening night roster. The fifth-round pick who wasn't supposed to be here isn't going anywhere. Mark it down: October 2025, opening night at Madison Square Garden, Berard will be in the lineup. And he'll embrace his first shift of the season like it's the last shift of his career.