Bryan Wallace Berard (born March 5, 1977) is an American retired professional ice hockey defenceman. Berard played a total of 619 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Islanders.
Career
Before playing in the NHL, Berard played 1 season with the Detroit Junior Red Wings and 1 seasons with the Detroit Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He was drafted with the 1st overall pick by the Ottawa Senators in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.
Berard is best known for a game he played on March 11, 2000 where he was clipped in the right eye by Senators' Marian Hossa and had his sclera slashed. This resulted in both a retinal tear and a detached retina. Berard was told that he might have to lose his eye. During the next season, Berard had over 7 eye operations. The operations left him with 20/600 in his damaged eye. He would later be fitted with a contact lens which allowed him to meet the league's minimum vision requirement of 20/400. He was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for his ability to "overcome an injury that left him legally blind in one eye" in 2004.
In early 2006, it was announced that Berard had tested positive for an anabolic steroid which was known as 19-Norandrosterone, in a drug test that he took in November 2005. Berard became the first NHL player to ever test positive for steroids. He said in a statement: "I made a mistake that resulted in a suspension and, while unintentional, I take full responsibility. I became aware of this problem after the fact, and for that I am disappointed in myself." He retired from playing professional ice hockey in 2009.
Later life
On November 13, 2013, Berard along with ex-police officer John Kaiser, helped catch two con artists that were conspiring to steal $15 million from NHL players as well as many Long Island police officers and their families.