Berard excited to compete at NTDP evaluation camp
WOONSOCKET — There wasn’t a phone call, a text message or even an e-mail.
Mount St. Charles Hockey Academy 15U standout forward Brady Berard found out he was invited to the National Team Development Program evaluation camp later this month in Plymouth, Michigan the old-school way.
“They sent me a piece of mail about how I made it and when it is and the schedule and everything else,” the East Greenwich resident said prior to Tuesday’s practice. “It’s really a privilege to be recognized. I’ve worked hard to earn this and it feels good that my hard work is paying off. I still have so much ahead of me and I just hope I preform well at this tryout and play well.”
Of course, USA Hockey already had Berard’s home address on file because two years ago they sent the same piece of mail to Berard’s older brother, Brett, who was a former Hendricken standout who has gone on to star on the U17 and U18 National teams. Brady Berard remembers being an eighth-grader when his brother was invited to Michigan for the camp.
At that point, this moment seemed so far away, but the Providence College commit has worked hard over the last couple of seasons and earned an invite thanks to leading the No. 9 Mounties with 23 goals and 24 assists.
“When Brett was invited, that seemed so far away for me, but I knew I just had to put in the work,” Berard said. “After I was invited, we talked about it and he just told me it’s a grind and it’s hard work every single day. You have to work hard every single day on and off the ice, so if I ever get the chance to be on the team, I’m ready for it.”
Berard leaves Rhode Island on March 18 to play five games over four days with the goal of impressing the coaches and earning a spot on next season’s U17 NTDP squad. There’s one game at 4 p.m. on Thursday followed by a pair of games on Friday. He will play a game each on Saturday and Sunday before returning to Rhode Island.
Mount U15 coach Scott Gainey said his biggest piece of advice to Berard was to be himself. Instead of trying to impress the coaches with slick moves and passes, Gainey wants to see Berard play the heavy game that’s made him one of the best players on Mount’s Northeast Pack championship team.
“It’s a nice feather in his cap to be invited with the other best players in the country,”
Gainey said. “He deserves this. My conversations were pretty brief with Brady and it was simply Brady play Brady hockey. Don’t do something that will expose things, play heavy hockey and I think everything will be fine.
“I’m not worried about his compete level and I’m not worried about his strength. I just want him to do what he does well – be a north-south hockey player. I think he’ll do well.”
Berard, whose father David is the head coach at Holy Cross, was one of the top players in the Interscholastic League when he led the Hawks to the state final in 2019, but his game has blossomed this season thanks to hard work in the weight room and on the ice last summer. Berard bulked up to 180 pounds, which makes him an imposing force when he’s barreling through the neutral zone with the puck or flying into the offensive zone on the forecheck.
“I worked really hard over the summer and the results have shown it,” Berard said. “Coach Gainey and coach [Jim] Creamer really pushed me to be a better player, so that really helped with my development. I’ve gotten really strong and that’s really produced on the ice, that’s a plus. My teammates on the ice have also made me better.”
“When we watched Brady last year we had a projection of what he could be, but he just came in bigger and stronger,” Gainey said. “I also feel like his teammates should take pride in him having this opportunity because they’ve made him better, too. They practice against him hard every day and that makes this program level with the compete level we see every day.”
Berard will see some familiar faces in Plymouth next week because former South Shore Kings U14 teammate Michael Stenberg, who plays at Thayer Academy, was also invited. He also played with a couple of Detroit-based kids at a national camp.
Of course, when Berard takes the ice next Friday, it will be his first real game action in a few months because he’s just returning from an injury. Berard played in Saturday’s combined U15 and U16 squad scrimmage that Berard’s team won handily.
“It was great to get back on the ice,” Berard said.
For the second time in their hockey careers, the Berards will be ships passing in the night. Two years ago, the plan was for the brothers to play together at Hendricken for a season, but Brett ruined those plans by earning a spot on the U17 squad. The older Berard, who has 34 points for the U18 team, is leaving Michigan this summer to join Nate Leamen’s Providence College team.
Brady Berard hopes in a few years he and his brother will share the same ice for the first time in their careers.
“We’ve never played hockey together before – ever – and I’m really hoping we can in a few years at PC,” Berard said.
When Berard returns to Rhode Island, he hopes the U15 team will be preparing for USA Hockey Nationals back in Plymouth in the first week of April. The Mounties are relying on an at-large bid after losing the New England district final to South Kent Selects last November.
The Mounties put themselves in good position to earn one of the three at-large bids when they won the Northeast Pack title last month with wins over No. 8 Buffalo Jr. Sabres and No. 7 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite.
Of course, the whole conversation might be moot if USA Hockey is forced to cancel the event because of the spread of the coronavirus.
“We’ve been in this situation before [at South Kent] and we’re fortunate enough to get an at-large bid,” Gainey said. “It’s a unique circumstance with whether they’re going to have the tournament at all. The guys have been pretty good, but we’re all anxious to find out if we get in. We feel like we deserve to be in there because we’ve beaten some quality teams above us and we have winning records against them.”