Prospect Info: D Xavier Bernard
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sounds like a faster adam larsson. More defensive but also capable of skating it out of the d-zone or getting it out with a pass to the forwards, something Larsson was pretty good at.
mtnet
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- Oct 31, 2014
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LHD with plenty of size and without glaring deficiencies, I'll take it
At worst hopefully bottom pairing potential
At worst hopefully bottom pairing potential
Brooklyndevil
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JrFischer54
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- Apr 4, 2017
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Monsieur Verdoux
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OmNomNom
Taco is Love, Taco is Life
Monsieur Verdoux
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Jeff Marek’s favourite under-the-radar picks from 2018 NHL Draft
Round 4 – Xavier Bernard, New Jersey Devils: Drummondville of the QMJHL had a heck of a first round with Nicolas Beaudin and Joe Veleno picked up by Chicago and Detroit respectively, and in the fourth the Devils tapped the Voltigeurs to come away with the 6-foot-3 defenceman. Bernard may be a project for the Devils, but he moves his feet well and has shown some offensive upside.
Jeff Marek’s favourite under-the-radar picks from 2018 NHL Draft - Sportsnet.ca
Round 4 – Xavier Bernard, New Jersey Devils: Drummondville of the QMJHL had a heck of a first round with Nicolas Beaudin and Joe Veleno picked up by Chicago and Detroit respectively, and in the fourth the Devils tapped the Voltigeurs to come away with the 6-foot-3 defenceman. Bernard may be a project for the Devils, but he moves his feet well and has shown some offensive upside.
Jeff Marek’s favourite under-the-radar picks from 2018 NHL Draft - Sportsnet.ca
Darkauron
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glenwo2
JESPER BRATWURST
glenwo2
JESPER BRATWURST
Listening to him, if I close my eyes, It almost sounds like we drafted Jean-Claude Van Damme's kid or something.....lol
The Wumpus
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Lol, Bloodsport was on TV last night. Awful acting, but amazing jump kicks.
OmNomNom
Taco is Love, Taco is Life
have you seen what bolo yeung aka Chong Li (the guy he fights at the end) looks like nowadays? it's pretty crazy how well he's aged (71 years old)
Monsieur Verdoux
Registered User
The 6-foot-3, 200 pound defenseman from Quebec is known for his skating - speed, agility, pivots, backwards, forwards. The 18-year-old is always moving his feet, even without the puck. He's got a good shot, moves the puck well, often makes the safe play and has been gaining in confidence in his decision making and that's translated into more offensive contributions with 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points in 66 games for Drummondville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this past year.
Bernard will need to focus on adding size and strength to be able to utilize his large frame more effectively as well as improve his speed on the ice and between the ears. He often choses to make the right play, but will need to think the game faster at the professional level.
"He seems like a very dedicated player and has shown that he wants to be a good player and has made efforts to improve his game," Castron said. "We're excited to watch him continue to develop and help him along the way because he has all the tools to turn into a real good two-way player for us."
Devils 2018 NHL Draftee Scouting Report
Bernard will need to focus on adding size and strength to be able to utilize his large frame more effectively as well as improve his speed on the ice and between the ears. He often choses to make the right play, but will need to think the game faster at the professional level.
"He seems like a very dedicated player and has shown that he wants to be a good player and has made efforts to improve his game," Castron said. "We're excited to watch him continue to develop and help him along the way because he has all the tools to turn into a real good two-way player for us."
Devils 2018 NHL Draftee Scouting Report
thethinglonger
Castron & Crew
I've been working on a shift-by-shift video of Bernard from the QMJHL playoffs...should have it done and up by later today. A couple thoughts from this game alone:
Firstly, Drummundville (Bernard's team) was quite outmatched in their playoff series against Victoriaville...and for some reason that I can't seem to put my finger on, I'm not a big fan of Dominique Ducharme's coaching...maybe it's the player deployment strategies, but that's not important. Bernard was in a highly defensive role in this game and had a decent number of defensive zone starts but not as many as I'd thought there would be. His skating is solid and fluid, but he really needs to work on his first step. I'm not looking for him to be a waterbug out there, but improving that first step will really help his already-solid defensive game. It shows when opponents try to gain the offensive zone line on him...he has to back off and respect their speed because if he tries to meet them at the line, they'll zip around him. That being said, he's a big dude and has a long reach, and is really good at angling opponents into the boards right after they gain the offensive zone. There, he hits them, usually very hard, and they lose possession and the sequence is over. He's fantastic at that. Or, if the opponent tries to chip the puck around him, his defensive partner swings back behind the net and picks the puck up to take it the other way. So even though he hasn't done too much to disrupt zone entries, he's like Fort Knox when opponents actually get close to him.
He makes the simple, smart passing play...usually to his defensive partner in order to free up space for the breakout, and has a powerful shot from the blue line. It's clear that the defensive side of the game is his bread and butter, but there's definitely some potential to improve offensively, and even though he didn't get on the board this game (Drummundville lost 3-1), his smart passing directly lead to opening space on the ice for Drummundville's only goal of the game.
These are just some thoughts from this one game, and I hope to get the video up soon
Firstly, Drummundville (Bernard's team) was quite outmatched in their playoff series against Victoriaville...and for some reason that I can't seem to put my finger on, I'm not a big fan of Dominique Ducharme's coaching...maybe it's the player deployment strategies, but that's not important. Bernard was in a highly defensive role in this game and had a decent number of defensive zone starts but not as many as I'd thought there would be. His skating is solid and fluid, but he really needs to work on his first step. I'm not looking for him to be a waterbug out there, but improving that first step will really help his already-solid defensive game. It shows when opponents try to gain the offensive zone line on him...he has to back off and respect their speed because if he tries to meet them at the line, they'll zip around him. That being said, he's a big dude and has a long reach, and is really good at angling opponents into the boards right after they gain the offensive zone. There, he hits them, usually very hard, and they lose possession and the sequence is over. He's fantastic at that. Or, if the opponent tries to chip the puck around him, his defensive partner swings back behind the net and picks the puck up to take it the other way. So even though he hasn't done too much to disrupt zone entries, he's like Fort Knox when opponents actually get close to him.
He makes the simple, smart passing play...usually to his defensive partner in order to free up space for the breakout, and has a powerful shot from the blue line. It's clear that the defensive side of the game is his bread and butter, but there's definitely some potential to improve offensively, and even though he didn't get on the board this game (Drummundville lost 3-1), his smart passing directly lead to opening space on the ice for Drummundville's only goal of the game.
These are just some thoughts from this one game, and I hope to get the video up soon
Awesome! Cant get enough of shift by shift vids. Thanks for doing the leg work making it. Its so helpful to have full game film especially with evaluating defenders
Your description suggests that NJ may really have something in him. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Hopefully he develops the first step you are looking for.
