Rangers' Brett Berard played with shoulder tear for most of season
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Brett Berard revealed that he tore his labrum in his shoulder during his fourth NHL game last season, which lingered throughout the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign before forcing him to withdraw from Team USA at the 2025 World Championship.
'That happened [on Nov. 30] against Montreal, right when I got called up,' the 22-year-old said Thursday before participating in the Shoulder Check Showcase at Terry Conners Rink in Stamford, Conn. 'Just kind of lingered all year, wore a brace all year. It was good to kind of get that situated. It feels good, it feels strong. So just trying to get it all better, but we feel a lot better now.'
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No surgery was required, and Berard expects to be 100 percent ready to go for training camp.
At the time of the injury, Berard had just been called up for the first time since the Rangers drafted him No. 134 overall in 2020.
After the injury, the Rhode Island native missed just three games before returning to the lineup.
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Brett Berard plays in the third annual Shoulder Check hockey showcase game at Terry Conners Rink on July 24, 2025, in Stamford, CT.
Corey Sipkin for New York Post
'It was really just kind of a normal hit, I just went in weird. … It didn't feel great at all,' said Berard, who appeared in 35 games last season with the Rangers. 'I was out for a week or so. But it's one of those things where you're up in the NHL, you work your whole life for it. I felt like I was playing pretty good hockey, too, so you don't want to really lose that. So, just tried to play through it.'
As first reported by The Post in May, Berard pulled out of the international tournament at the last minute due to what was described as 'physical limitations' at the time.
Berard said he committed, skated once or twice and his shoulder didn't feel great.
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Brett Berard plays in the third annual Shoulder Check hockey showcase game at Terry Conners Rink on July 24, 2025, in Stamford, CT.
Corey Sipkin for New York Post
When he realized he'd have no rehab time, Berard made the tough decision not to participate in the tournament.
The injury hasn't affected his offseason training.
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'It stunk. I was rooting for everybody, it was awesome to see them win gold there,' Berard said of Team USA, which won its first standalone world championship title since 1933. 'It makes you a little bit jealous, but I know a ton of those guys, a lot of best friends with them. So it was awesome to watch them. … It was deserved. They had a great team. It was a ton of fun to watch them, but it did stink.'
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New York Times
4 hours ago
- New York Times
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New York Times
5 hours ago
- New York Times
How a ‘metamorphosis' turned Ryker Lee into one of the NHL's most gifted prospects
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Ward said that Shattuck actually got lucky that he was as small as he was because the players who have his skill and also more physical stature at an early age have 'everybody in the world wanting them.' 'It was a blessing that he started out as a little guy. And now that he's moving on out into the big, real hockey world, he has been blessed again, and he has had a growth spurt. Because he's not afraid of the gym,' Wars said. 'He's a strong kid, a farmer strong kid. He's wiry strong. He can hold his own, and he can hang. He's a good athlete. He's got good explosiveness. And he's losing his heavy feet. Now that he's getting stronger in his legs and his core, he can lift them up, and set them down, and get back, and cut and stop and start.' Because of that development, Ward said Nightingale and his staff are now the lucky ones. '(Nightingale) has got a good player. And he's a wonderful kid. He gets it. Like the tortoise does win the race and he has just had to stick with it,' Ward said. 'He's just a rink rat, throwback kind of kid. If he could be up at the rink all day long, whether it's on the ice or just in the dressing room, or training, or laughing, or just shooting the breeze with his buddies, he would be. He's just a rat, and in the greatest, most affectionate, most competitive way. (He's) a really good teammate, and he plays his ass off, and he has finally grown. And I'm so happy for him because he is a completely different person.' The Predators will be the next lucky ones. 'I was telling all of the guys from the (NHL) when they were calling and asking questions about him, if you don't take him when you have the chance to take him, you're going to be kicking yourself in four or five years because this kid's going to be ripping it up,' Ward said. 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Even on a team with guys such as Zellers, the reigning USHL Player of the Year, and Aidan Park, a draft pick of the Oilers known for his hands, it was Lee who was 'The Wizard.' Advertisement 'You could put three of us, four of us, in a phone booth and we'd never touch the puck,' Ward said. 'He's got that ability. And he can wire it, too. Like he can shoot it and he's not afraid to score. He's not one of these guys that is just enamored with stickhandling. He's just as enamored with scoring.' Ask Lee where his hands come from, and he says it's twofold. They were honed with hard work in his basement, but they were also a necessity of his reality as a smaller player. 'I had to learn how to be smarter and put myself in good positions,' Lee said. With his new size, he's learning to use his body more as well. Between development camp with the Preds and the World Junior Summer Showcase, he has also been in East Lansing working out with Michigan State's strength and conditioning coach Will Morlock, who he said was one of the main reasons he and others are now choosing the Spartans. 'I've been working with him ever since I got on campus, and the workouts have been hard, but that's exactly what I need, and he kind of caters everything to what you need specifically,' Lee said. After a strong start at the World Junior Summer Showcase, he's excited to continue to show USA Hockey the progress he has made this fall — and that he's more than just his hands — with his sights set on making the team in December. 'Obviously, I have an offensive game and I can bring offense to this team, but I also want to prove that I can outwork opponents and play in all situations for them,' he said. (Photo of Ryker Lee: Madison Capitols / Rosenau Photography)
New York Times
5 hours ago
- New York Times
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