Prospect Info: 2020 NHL Draft 134th Overall Pick, Brett Berard, LW

[OriginalLimbo]

That I can wholeheartedly agree with.

I still believe Berard and Vierling dropping was caused by the pandemic affecting hockey in NA, with so many European prospects playing in the weeks leading up to the draft, it just feels like a lot of them had a late surge in where they eventually ended up being picked.

I haven't really had the time to dive into this to see if it's correct, it's just a theory, but both Berard and Vierling IMO could have easily been 3rd rounders if not 2nd rounders

Interesting theory. I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks!

 

[TheBloodyNine]

hitting on 1st round picks is great, but you need to hit on a few of the late rounders as well.

Thats the difference between Edmonton and Tampa. Be like Tampa.

With Laf and Kakko, we have our McDavid/Drai. now we need guys like Berard and Jones and Barron to be our Cirellis, and Points, and Palats. Those are the guys the Oilers are missing.

True words right here. Worth it to mention that although the wasn’t our pick, Fox was a 4th rounder so we got that going for us

 

[RangersFan1994]

Meh, Killorn is one of those guys who people love when hes on another team but tend to sour on when hes on yours.

Gourde OTOH, I'd love to have.

Killorn only has been on Tampa lol

Gourde is entertaining. I would love to have him. would cost a lot I would think.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

True words right here. Worth it to mention that although the wasn’t our pick, Fox was a 4th rounder so we got that going for us

3rd round. 66th overall

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Killorn only has been on Tampa lol

Gourde is entertaining. I would love to have him. would cost a lot I would think.

I'm aware.

the point is you may really like him while he's playing for Tampa, but you would not like him as much once he gets here, especially on that contract.

 

[kovazub94]

That was Vierling, but a similar principle applies.

Two great mid round picks, which is a nice change from garbage like Jason Wilson and Brandon Crawley.

I mean this appropriate got us Keane.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Meet Brett Berard, America's Aggressor

 

[Savant]

My second favorite player the Rangers drafted, which I am pretty sure I said at the time. Glad he is doing well.

 

[Dux917]

Understand he has a little brother (Brady) who is in his first year on the NTDP team - who may be even better then Brett....

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Understand he has a little brother (Brady) who is in his first year on the NTDP team - who may be even better then Brett....

Yes, and already committed to Providence for 2022-23

 

[nyr2k2]

Understand he has a little brother (Brady) who is in his first year on the NTDP team - who may be even better then Brett....

Yeah, I mentioned it on one of these threads, he's quite skilled himself and is already 6+ feet at age 16. If Brett were that size, with his skating and skill, he would have been a first round pick.

 

[Fitzy]

Meet Brett Berard, America's Aggressor

I thought Dick Cheney was America's aggressor

 

[PuckLuck3043]

Love love love this kid Berard. I think both of our 5th round picks were absolute steals.

 

[Edge]

Vierling really took off after the trade to Barrie, but it wasn't a huge sample size due to the pause, so maybe some teams didn't put much stock into it.

Correct.

Vierling is an incredibly smart player who plays with urgency and energy and is very responsible in all three zones. The question was whether the offense would be there. The trade to Barrie showed scouts an element that hadn’t quite been a factor previously. Now the question is whether he can sustain it. If he can, you’re arguably looking at a Dom Moore type.

With Berard the questions were size, his ability to translate and frankly, being in a spotlight position where he could shine. So in that sense he was very much in similar position to Ryan Callahan as a teenager - with the hope that he’s a guy who rises because he just refuses to take no for an answer.

Vierling is probably more of the IQ player, whereas Berard has more natural gifts to work with and is a more exciting.

But I’d perfectly happy to have the two of them forever linked in a Dubinsky-Callahan type manner.

 

[Edge]

Love love love this kid Berard. I think both of our 5th round picks were absolute steals.

I freely admit that I loved the Rangers 2020 draft.

Tarnstrom wouldn’t have been my pick in the third, and I still have nothing on Hugo to sink my teeth into, but I honestly felt that from top to bottom it was the most promising overall draft day I’d seen for the Rangers.

 

[Edge]

View attachment 381024 View attachment 381025

Between 45 and 89 despite his size. We got him at 134. He could have been ranked 30-50 if he were a bit bigger.

I pegged Berard and Vierling as third rounders, so landing them in the fifth was huge. Rangers also had both guys much higher than they were able to land them. I really wish I wrote this shit down sometimes - I want to say in the 70s.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

I freely admit that I loved the Rangers 2020 draft.

Tarnstrom wouldn’t have been my pick in the third, and I still have nothing on Hugo to sink my teeth into, but I honestly felt that from top to bottom it was the most promising overall draft day I’d seen for the Rangers.

I feel like they’ve been getting progressively better since 2017.

 

[nyr2k2]

If they had taken someone reasonable instead of f***ing Lindbum a few years ago I'd be super bullish about everything.

(Somewhat joking. He was a terrible pick at the time and looks worse now.)

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

The Athletic did a write up reviewing the world juniors. Stars and Flops. 15 scouts voted.

MVP was Zegras but they also included some pleasant surprises and Berard was the first player mentioned.

Pleasant Surprises

Brett Berard, LW, United States (New York Rangers)
Berard was excellent when I saw him in the first half of 2019-20, showing a lot of skill and energy. He then faded in the second half, leading to him being a mid-round pick. When he was first added to the USA roster I thought there could have been better options, but he quickly showed he was the right choice. Berard brought a lot of speed and hustle to his shifts to go along with some offense. He looks like a nice fifth-round pick with a solid chance to play at the bottom of an NHL lineup.

Best and worst of the 2021 world juniors: NHL scouts vote for stars and flops
Best and worst of the 2021 world juniors: NHL scouts vote for stars and flops

 

[Edge]

If they had taken someone reasonable instead of f***ing Lindbum a few years ago I'd be super bullish about everything.

(Somewhat joking. He was a terrible pick at the time and looks worse now.)

But then what would happen to your daily Kravtsov blog on here? {Insert Cheesy Grin}

 

[LionsHeart]

I like what I saw from Berard. We need some lunch pail players in our lineup, and we all know how much MSG loves grinders.

 

[True Blue]

I like what I saw from Berard. We need some lunch pail players in our lineup, and we all know how much MSG loves grinders.

Honestly, if the kid can become Gallagher 2.0, it would be a complete home run.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Honestly, if the kid can become Gallagher 2.0, it would be a complete home run.

That's who he tries to emulate.

 

[bl02]

Honestly, if the kid can become Gallagher 2.0, it would be a complete home run.

heck I would even take Gallagher lite.
Then again I think Gallagher is a terrific player. Kind of guy that would fit on any team for so many reasons

 

[Synergy27]

If they had taken someone reasonable instead of f***ing Lindbum a few years ago I'd be super bullish about everything.

(Somewhat joking. He was a terrible pick at the time and looks worse now.)

A head scratcher from the moment the pick was announced. I don’t think Bode Wilde was ever a consideration for them, not a player type they target, but how the hell was Drury not the pick there? Makes no sense.

Finding guys like Berard late helps soften the blow of picks like Lindbom but it’s really hard to avoid the what if scenarios when thinking about it.