Berard leaves Providence after junior season, inks NHL deal with Rangers

Brett Berard popped 10 goals and 24 points this season for Providence (photo: Lydia Vigneau).

Providence junior forward Brett Berard has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s New York Rangers that will begin in the 2023-24 season.

Berard, who gives up his senior season with Providence, will join the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.

In 36 games with the Friars in 2022-23, the East Greenwich, R.I., native finished tied for second on the team in scoring with 24 points on 10 goals and 14 assists with a plus-5 rating. He led the team with 129 shots on goal and posted seven multi-point efforts this season, including three-point games against UMass (Nov. 4) and Merrimack (Jan. 13).

Originally a fifth-round selection (134th overall) by the Rangers in the 2020 NHL Draft, Berard registered 33 goals and 39 assists for 72 points, eight game-winning goals and a +12 rating in 91 career games at Providence.