After his first outing this preseason, New York Rangers prospect Brett Berard has made quite an impact on his future with the team. But has it been enough to try and make it onto the final roster for opening night in just under two weeks?
Let's talk about it.
Has he shown enough to win a spot?
It has only been one game so far, but you can see that Berard has vastly improved from last season. In 2024-25, he appeared in 36 games, contributing four goals and six assists for 10 points. Not a terrible first showing, but certainly underwhelming.
Fast forward to the debacle that was the 5-4 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins. Berard was fantastic at making the most of his 15:43 of ice time. The 5'9" left winger led all Rangers with five hits in a ferocious contest for preseason, and added a pair of shots. This was all accompanied by a nice assist on the first Rangers goal of the game by Trey Fix-Wolansky.
Fix-Wolansky ties the game, what a pass by Berard. #NYR pic.twitter.com/3RXdJzpi3Q
— David 🏒 (@DaveyUpper) September 23, 2025
The left side of the Rangers lineup is pretty packed as of right now. Alexis Lafrenière, Artemi Panarin. Will Cuylle and Adam Edstrom are the four likely picks for opening night to man the left side. The only other way of making the jump would be to play the right wing, but another prospect might have done just a bit more than Berard to earn a spot.
That would be Brennan Othmann, who will likely be matched up with Berard in the "Kid Line 2.0" that is pending a trademark. Othmann was used pretty heavily in all areas of both games, and new head coach Mike Sullivan has a tough decision to make if he can only bring one of these two prospects up to start the season.
If Berard does not crack the opening lineup, expect him to be out there in a Rangers uniform again for a good amount of this season. It is all about who doesn't perform and where he can slide into. Edstrom moving off the fourth line is the most likely solution, but you never know what can happen.
As of right now, the 23-year-old is doing all of the right things and establishing himself the right way. It is a matter of when and not if he will be suiting up for the Blueshirts this season, in a larger role.