Topic: Bryan Berard

Bryan Wallace Berard (born March 5, 1977) is an American professional ice hockey player, currently playing for Vityaz Chekhov of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was the first overall pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators. He is most noted for a debilitating eye injury he received early in his career. He also attended Mount Saint Charles Academy.

He was drafted first overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He would not play a game for the Senators, after informing the club he would not report. The Senators traded him along with Martin Straka to the New York Islanders for Wade Redden and Damian Rhodes. He was a successful player on the Islanders and was rewarded for his efforts in 1997 by winning the Calder Trophy as the top rookie player in the NHL. He also played for the United States in the 1998 Winter Olympics. After four years on Long Island, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Berard played the last two seasons in Columbus. Besides his Calder Trophy season with the Islanders, Berard’s best season was 2003–04 in which he was 13–34–47 in only 58 games with the Chicago Blackhawks. In 565 career NHL games with the Islanders, Toronto, Rangers, Boston, Chicago, and Columbus, Berard has 71 goals and 230 assists for a total of 301 points.