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.”
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.
“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.
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.
“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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