New York Rangers Have Their Very Own 'Brad Marchand' Type Of Player: Chris Drury Must Utilize This
The New York Rangers forward Brett Berard has found himself being compared to great NHLers lately. According to The Hockey News Stan Fischler, who he and his friend the "Maven" offer their commentary on Rangers stars often, Brett Berard is the most like Stanley Cup winner, Brad Marchand.
Stan Fishcler received an interesting question from a Staten Islander about the Rangers. "Is there any player comparable to Brad Marchand on the Blueshirt?" It's not exactly what they said, but it's a paraphrase of it.
Stan Fischler and his friend, the "Maven", believe that the Rangers have one player who plays a similar game to Marchand, but we're not going to mention the "rat" fact here.
That would be Brett Berard, who is an "undersized" winger utilizing orthodox NHL lingo. At 5-foot-9, 174 pounds, Berard is a highly motivated winger. Like Marchand, he's a little ball of hate and can get into the dirty areas of the ice despite his frame.
The Little Ball of Hate
"Don't let his 5-foot-frame fool you. He's a wrecking ball who fights his way to high danger areas."
Marchand's coach, Paul Maurice, gave us some insight that explained what helped the Panthers on the ice this season. The similarities to Berard are there.
"I was surprised at what Brad did for us. We actually valued his defensive experience with Patrice Bergeron, both at 5 on 5 play and on the penalty kill more than we needed offensive help. The impact Brad had on both Lundell and Luostarinen's offensive game was a surprise and highly impactful to our success.
While it's not to be expected that Berard will check all of Marchand's boxes, he's found himself as a capable depth forward in the lineup.
Could he develop into a winger similar to Marchand down the road? It seems like the antics box might not be checked, though.
"While we felt he was a fantastic contributor on both sides of the puck, it was his unceasing positive attitude that was valued the most. Brad starts his chipping at breakfast and it builds from there.
"What an incredible personality for our team and the game. He was an incredibly important add at the deadline."
"What an incredible personality for our team and the game. He was an incredibly important add at the deadline."
In 35 games with the Rangers, Berard added 10 points (6-4) and could find himself in a bottom-six role to start the season.
Previously on NY Hockey Insider
| POLL | ||
AOUT 9 | 73 ANSWERS New York Rangers Have Their Very Own 'Brad Marchand' Type Of Player: Chris Drury Must Utilize This Do you think forward Brett Berard of the New York Rangers has a similarity to forward Brad Marchand of the Florida Panthers? | ||
| Yes | 29 | 39.7 % |
| No | 44 | 60.3 % |
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