The Brett Berard experiment seems to be going well for the New York Rangers.
You may look at Berard’s zero points in eight games since being called up by the Rangers and come to the observation that he hasn’t been as impactful as the team maybe would have hoped for, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Similar to last season during the 35 games that he played with the Rangers, Berard has provided the team with a jolt of energy through his physical play, blazing speed, and relentless brand of hockey that he brings to the ice each and everyday.
“I feel good. I feel like I’m starting to get more comfortable, especially being here last year,” Berard said. “I think the adjustment has been a little bit easier, getting used to the pace of the game. Playing with Lobs (Noah Laba) and Cools (Will Cuylle), starting to build some really good chemistry with them, so it made it really easy on me. It's really easy on me. I feel like we've been generating a lot of chances. We haven't seen them necessarily going in yet, but I think our energy and our speed and compete, as has shown, and I think as long as we keep building off of that, I mean, the goals and the points will come.”
Berard has helped form a formidable line alongside Will Cuylle and Noah Laba.
This trio has helped add an element of balance to the Rangers’ lineup, taking both offensive and defensive pressure off of the top-six forward group.
There’s a simple formula for why this line continues to be so impactful. It’s all about speed and physicality.
“I mean, they're both big and strong and fast,” Berard said. “I mean, it's a super simple game that we play. It's an easy game. It's chip, forecheck. When the play is there, we all have the ability to make plays, but when it's not, I think we've done a really good job at getting it behind their D and kind of putting pressure on them and turning pucks over. I think we've done a good job of that, and we just have to continue to build off of what we've done, and continue to build on our chemistry, and just get that much more comfortable with each other.”
Berard also admitted he’s playing with more confidence, and there are a couple of reasons for that.
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The 23-year-old forward failed to make the Rangers’ opening-night roster out of training camp, followed by a 14-game scoring drought to kick off the 2025-26 campaign with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League.
Now, Berard finds himself back in the NHL, and his newfound confidence stems from playing with the right intentions, which he believes will eventually translate to points.
“I think I'm confident in myself as a player,” Berard emphasized. “I'm trying to play a simple, straightforward game, and the points will come. For me up here, knowing that the points will come, going through what I did in Hartford, and not to focus on that at all, and just trying to play my game fast, hard, and smart with the puck smart in the D zone. I'm trying to take pride in that.”