Perhaps some were surprised that Brett Berard scored 25 goals with the Hartford Wolf Pack last season or that he was among the final cuts in New York Rangers training camp this Fall. But the 22-year-old forward continues to improve and impress with the 2024-25 AHL season underway.
Berard scored two more goals Saturday, including the game winner 1:38 into overtime, to help the Wolf Pack edge Bridgeport 5-4 at XL Center. The 5-foot-9 forward has four goals and six points in the first three games this season, with at least one goal and point in each.
He’s had a big weekend already for the Wolf Pack. Berard had three points (one goal, two assists) in a 6-5 home win against Springfield on Friday.
Berard scored in two completely different ways against Bridgeport, showing diversity in his skill set. He gave Hartford a 3-2 lead at 15:53 of the second period, when he combined his speed, strength and soft hands to score on a neat wraparound.
Then with Hartford skating on the power play in overtime, Berard got himself into shooting position, cocked his stick high in the air and hammered a one-timer past Marcus Hogberg for the game-winning goal.
Wolf Pack coach Grant Potulny said Friday how impressed he’s been with the power play that features Berard, Brennan Othmann, Alex Belzile, Casey Fitzgerald and Bo Groulx. After scoring nine power-play goals last season with Hartford, Berard has two in three games to start 2024-25.
Brett Berard continues to impress Rangers with Wolf Pack play
It’s very early, but Berard is fourth among AHL goal-scoring leaders and tied for fifth in points. This after his two-way play impressed the Rangers enough that they kept the 2020 fifth-round pick until the final cuts ahead of the regular season. He even lasted longer in camp despite scoring less than Othmann, New York’s first-round selection in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Berard is one point ahead of Groulx on the Wolf Pack. The veteran center has five points (two goals, three assists) after a breakout four-point (two goals, two assists) outing Saturday. Othmann was held off the score sheet against Bridgeport but has four points (two goals, two assists) in three games.
Rangers forward prospect Adam Sykora scored his first goal of the season Saturday, giving Hartford a 4-3 lead at 13:38 of the third period. The 20-year-old had eight goals and 23 points as a rookie pro with the Wolf Pack last season.
Fitzgerald, a defenseman signed by the Rangers as a free agent this past offseason, had two assists Saturday, including the primary on Berard’s game-winning goal. He’s got four points (one goal, three assists) so far.
The Wolf Pack conclude a busy three-game weekend when they visit Bridgeport in the finale of a home-and-home set Sunday.
