Prospect Brett Berard makes Team USA preliminary WJC roster

One New York Rangers prospect makes the preliminary roster for Team USA

When the New York Rangers drafted left winger Brett Berard in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the general consensus was that the Blueshirts had made a rock solid pick.   That judgment paid off when Berard was named to the preliminary roster for Team USA at the World Junior Championships in December.

Brett Berard is a smaller left winger, at 5’9″, 163 pounds and that may account for his lasting until the fifth round, but throughout his career he has used that size and his speed to be an impact player.

Elite Prospects.com said that Berard “packs high-octane offensive talent into a 5-foot-9 package. He sees an opportunity to shoot, pass, or support, and he immediately acts. He’s a dual-threat attacker with a bit of skill beyond the offence. He layers deception through false signals sent to the opposition with his eyes and through his body language. He works the puck through the defensive triangle.”

Berard was very impressive with the US National Development Junior Team last season with 7 goals and 18 points in 13 games.  He totaled 23 goals and 52 points in 54 games as a 17 year old.  Berard committed to play this fall at Providence College, but has yet to play a game for the Friars.

Competition for the final roster

Since this is the preliminary roster, there is no guarantee that he will make it to the 2021 World Junior Championships .  The competition will be held in a bubble in Edmonton with games starting on December 25 and the gold medal game scheduled for January 5.

On the left wing depth chart he definitely slots behind Matthew Boldy and Arthur Kaliyev.  Kaliyev is one of several players who were on the team last year.  That includes John Beecher, a more defensive player who can play left wing or center.  Beecher will have to sit out the first game of the tournament due to a suspension carryover from last year.    Nick Robertson is another left-shot forward who can play center or wing and was on the team last season.

First time left wingers who will be Berard’s competition will be Boldy who was left off the team last year and Robert Mastrosimone who also didn’t make the cut last season.

One factor not in Berard’s favor is that Team USA will have several players who might have been in the NHL now including Kaliyev and Alex Turcotte with Los Angeles and Trevor Zegras with Anaheim.

That will enable Team USA to field a much more experienced team.   There is still a question if there will be expanded rosters at the tournament.  Last year the team had 13 forwards in the Czech Republic.  With 17 forwards on the preliminary roster, they may be able to keep all of them in Edmonton due to the coronavirus.

Berard and the other candidates will report to the U.S. National Junior Team Training Camp in Plymouth, Mass. on December 6.  Roster decisions will be made by December 13, the day before Team USA is scheduled to travel to Edmonton.

One factor is Berard’s favor is that the coach of Team USA is Nate Leaman, the coach of the Providence Friars so he will know Berard well.  Providence was supposed to play this weekend, but the game against UMass-Lowell was postponed.

Last season, Team USA lost in the quarterfinals to Finland 1-0.  The only Rangers prospect on that team was defenseman K’Andre Miller.