Rather than talk about the Penguins again [I’d much rather strap myself onto a bed of nails and be forced to watch the 94 Stanley Cup finals with Enya playing in the background and Nathan Lane giving me a foot massage] I figured, this would be the perfect time for another edition of Islander memories.

This time, it’s the last New York Islander to win the Calder Trophy, yes you named it, and it’s not Captain Hook on steroids [even though his vision is 20/400 in one eye and he’s been banned from international play due to steroid use], it’s Bryan Berard. One of the few really talented players on a bunch of bad teams, Berard was one of the reasons why I watched Islanders hockey in the late 1990’s.

Not nearly as solid defensively as he is now [and that’s still not saying much] Berard was basically like a fourth forward on the ice. I vividly remember one occasion where BB was a -3 or 4 one game and on every goal, he was caught pinching. This was during the “Mad Mike” era, so basically as bad as you think the Isles were, you’re probably wrong; they were twice as worse, but anyway, back to my story. As punishment for his tendency to not get back and play defense, Berard was forced to play forward. Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. Berard could skate, but you could tell he was miserable out there.

Despite that penchant for jumping up and joining the play, Berard’s defense, throughout the year, got to the point where it wasn’t as much of a factor and with 40 assists, he managed to beat out Jarome Ignila for the Calder Trophy. However, like most good things on the Island, they didn’t last long and a year and a half later, Felix “The Cat” Potvin was here in place of Berard. Even though I thought the Isles desperately needed goaltending at that point in time with Tommy Salo not being a good fit [I’ll never forget the time Dan Cloutier beat the crap out of him] and no one to really back him up, it broke my heart to see us give up on someone who had so much potential.

It hurt even more to see BB get hurt the way he did in Toronto, but in spite of everything, he’s had a pretty successful career. He may not have lived up to the hype that goes with being a number one draft pick, but having Masterton and Calder Trophies on your mantle means something at the end of the day, doesn’t it?

Posted under Isles 2006-07, Isles Memories