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Berard to be brought in for training camp tryout |
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The already overcrowded Flyers blueline will have another player competing for a spot at camp: Bryan Berard.
While Berard's career for numerous reasons -- most notably a severe injury to his right eye that led to permanent vision impairment and a positive steroid test in 2006 -- has not quite lived up to the billing he received as the top overall pick of the 1995 draft, he remains a mobile and offensively skilled player. He's played 10 NHL seasons, most recently 54 games with the Islanders last year.
An unrestricted free agent, the 31-year-old Berard has not been able to catch on with another NHL team this offseason. That surprised me, because while he's never been stellar in his own end of the ice, Berard still has natural gifts with the puck that few other players possess. Even if he were to play a sixth defenseman role at even strength and get powerplay time, I think he can still contribute somewhere.
The opportunity to bring in Berard apparently came up suddenly, and was NOT initiated by the Flyers. But the club is certainly willing to give him a shot at a job.
The Flyers, who already plan to place Derian Hatcher on long-term injured reserve to get below the NHL salary cap, will have at least 10 defensemen at camp: Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Randy Jones, Steve Eminger, Ossi Väänänen, Lasse Kukkonen, Ryan Parent, Nate Guenin and Berard. As of now, unsigned Russian prospect Denis Bodrov also intends to attend camp, although the KHL regular season will already be underway.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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