Brett Berard is one year away from fulfilling a childhood dream.
But the forward from East Greenwich, R.I., who will celebrate his 17th birthday on Sept. 9 as he prepares for his second season with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, knows he has a lot of work to do before his lifelong vision of playing at Providence College becomes a reality.
Most of that labor will take place on the ice. A healthy amount will also take place in the classroom, where he’ll be adding to his already large workload.
“I’m supposed to be a junior this year, but I’m going to be a senior,” Berard said. “I’m taking extra classes so after this year I can go right into Providence.”
When the left-handed shooter does step on the ice at Schneider Arena next season, it won’t be the first time. The Friars’ rink long has been a home away from home for the 5-foot-8, 140-pounder.
Berard started skating at age 3, and the Friars’ barn was his playground since his dad, David, was their assistant coach. David, who’s entering his sixth season as head coach of the men’s team at Holy Cross, played four years, 1988-92, for the Friars as a goaltender.
In addition to his hockey duties, David also left an immeasurable impact on Brett.
“He was a huge influence for me,” Brett said. “He took me to Providence when I was a little kid, and sometimes I’d skate with the guys. He knows what he’s doing and has always known exactly what I needed to do to get to where I am now. He was a big part of my development through the years.”
Out of all the lessons David has taught him, what stands out the most is his message to “take one shift at a time.”
“If you had a bad shift, let up a goal or turned the puck over, you have to forget that shift and keep going, because there’s 60 minutes to play,” Brett said. “One shift shouldn’t ruin your game. You have to keep going no matter what, and it will all work out.”
Brett wasn’t the only Berard who received those words of wisdom. Another recipient was his brother, Brady, a 15-year-old forward who’s entering his first season at Mount Saint Charles Academy after he played his freshman campaign at Bishop Hendricken High School.
And like nearly every set of hockey-playing brothers who are close in age, they often put those words into action against each other, which made for some spirited engagements.
“Everything we do — hockey, basketball — is so competitive,” Brett asserted. “That helped me in hockey because we always wanted to win against each other. I’m even more competitive just because of playing against him all the time and wanting to win.”
More important than those battles, though, was the support of their mother, Lynne, whom Brett credits for allowing him and Brady to play the sport today.
“Without my mom, we wouldn’t be able to play hockey,” he said. “While my dad was on the road with his hockey, she carted me and my brother around to wherever we had to go — Canada or other states. She was the one driving us to practices and games.”
In Brett’s case, many of those practices and games were with the Edgewood Hawks, Providence Capitals, South Shore Kings and Cape Cod Whalers. He also played one season at Hendricken before trekking to Plymouth, Mich., to join the NTDP.
The negative of leaving after his freshman year was that it prevented him from being teammates with Brady for the first time in their lives.
“That was the unfortunate part,” Brett lamented before adding, “but you can’t really say no to the opportunity that was given to me to play at the ‘Program.’ It’s a sacrifice, but he’s going to Providence and hopefully we can recreate that some day.”
The positive of playing at Hendricken for one year was that it prepared him for the grind of facing more mature players last season with the NTDP Under-17 team.
“High school wasn’t close to the higher competition level that I played at last season, but playing against older, bigger and faster guys there helped a lot,” Berard explained. “It helps you get a feel for what’s out there and what you need to do to be successful against guys who are bigger and older than you.”
Berard knew he was going to face stiffer competition at the NTDP, especially since he’s a smaller player, but he kept putting in the work. His toil proved to be fruitful, as he posted 20 points (6-14-20) in 51 games.
“Brett is a slippery, skilled playmaking forward with a nasty side to him as an undersized guy,” said Seth Appert, who coached the Under-17 team last season and takes over as the Under-18 bench boss this campaign. “He was a guy who two years ago was 5-4, 120 pounds, and most people didn’t think he would be on the timeframe of making the national program. Not only did he make it, but he had a productive first year and proved that he’s a real good national team player, even though he was undersized coming in. That was real impressive and great to see.”
Berard, who grew up modeling his game after Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, whom he calls a “shifty player,” considers himself to be “more of a shooter, more of a goal scorer,” than a passer. He adds that he’s a smart and skilled player who sees the ice well.
“I know when the play is there,” Berard elaborated, “and when to hold onto the puck that extra second and wait until the play opens or wait until the shot lane is open to take a shot at the net.”
Berard feels he became a more intelligent player who was able to make quicker decisions last season. Looking ahead to when he skates for the Under-18 club this campaign, he wants to upgrade his shot and his skating.
“I feel like my shot needs to get harder,” Berard said, “and I need to become more explosive as a skater, with a better first step.”
Appert stated that when Berard is at his best, he will play a similar style to Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand.
“All undersized guys, to become great, need to have that pushback and edge to them,” Appert said. “Having that edge consistently, while still using the smarts and the cerebral savvy that Brett has with the puck, is going to be a real key to his growth this year.”
Away from the rink, Berard had an early advantage over his peers last season. While his teammates were living with billet families, he lived in an apartment with his cousin Jackie, who moved with him to Michigan while she pursued her master’s degree online.
“We were really close growing up,” Berard remembered. “We’ve always been together and she was willing to move out there with me. It’s like having a piece of the family from back home with you, which made it a lot easier adjusting.”
Although the challenge of living away from his parents for the first time was lessened by living with his cousin, it was still a daunting task.
“Having to move away from my family and not being able to see them every morning when you wake up and have breakfast was hard for the first couple of months,” Berard said. “But you just have to get used to doing different things. Once you got in the routine of going to school, going to the rink, playing hockey and making new friends — basically you’re family there now — it helped a lot.”
Two of his teammates — forward Matthew Beniers (Hingham, Mass.) and goaltender Drew Commesso (Norwell, Mass.) — have practically been family for many years.
“We started playing together when we went to the Brick Tournament in Edmonton when we were 10 years old,” Berard said. “Then we ended up on the South Shore Kings together and then the Cape Cod Whalers, so we’ve been playing together for many years. Moving out there was hard for everyone, but moving out there with them was good because you already knew some of the kids. We were all there for each other and helped each other along the way.”
When Berard reflects on how he’s matured since he joined the program a year ago, what first comes to mind is how he opened up in the classroom.
“I became friendlier at school,” he noted. “I had only a handful of teammates at school, so I had to branch out and try to make new friends.”
A year from now, he’ll again be surrounded by a fresh set of classmates and teammates. And Berard is tickled every time the thought enters his mind.
“Just skating at Providence and imagining what it would be like to play college hockey there … and now the opportunity is almost here,” Berard concluded. “It’s going to be really fun to live out this dream I’ve had my whole life.”
