User:SomeHockeyProfiles/Kevin Berry

Kevin Berry is a Swiss-born Canadian major junior ice hockey goaltender, currently playing with the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Berry is the first goaltender to be awarded exceptional player status, allowing him to be drafted into the OHL at age 15 instead of the regular 16. He has played his entire OHL career with the 67's, and is expected to be a top-10 selection at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Ottawa 67's (2013-2016)
Berry was selected with the first pick of the second round at the 2013 OHL Priority Selection, 20th overall, by the 67's. Ottawa had the first overall pick and selected Travis Konecny. Interestingly, it was the only time an exceptional player was not taken first overall. Berry stopped 27 out of 28 shots in his OHL debut on September 20, 2013, against the Belleville Bulls, but allowed six goals in his next game on September 22nd against North Bay.

Typical of a first-year goaltender in major junior hockey, Berry struggled with consistency throughout the season. Nevertheless, he spent the majority of the season as starting goalie, and ended the regular season amassing a record of 26-14-7, with a .908 save percentage and a 2.52 goals-against-average in 47 appearances. He also tallied one assist, and no shutouts.

The 67's made the playoffs, with a record of 36-23-9. Berry played fourteen minutes in his OHL playoffs debut in game 1 against the Mississauga Steelheads, making 10 saves before leaving the game with an apparent injury. Although he did not return to the game, Berry played in game 2 and made 23 saves on 24 shots en route to a 2-1 win. The 67's pushed the Steelheads to the brink in game three, with a 6-0 win and Berry's first career OHL shutout. Ottawa won 4-3 in game 4 to sweep Mississauga out of the playoffs.

Their next opponent would be the Belleville Bulls, the team that Berry made his OHL debut and got his first career win against. Belleville upset regular-season points champion Barrie in six games. Ottawa built a 3-0 series lead before the 67's' win streak ended at seven games, as Belleville defeated them in game 4 to avoid elimination, although the 67's were able to close the series out in overtime of game five.

Berry shut out third-round opponent Peterborough, giving the 67's a 2-0 series lead. Berry injured his groin after stopping only four shots in game 4 (goaltender Philippe Trudeau replaced him, and Ottawa lost 3-2), but returned for game 5, stopping 29 out of 30 shots in a double-overtime loss. Ottawa won game 6 in overtime to take the series 4-2. Berry made 35 saves on 38 shots, and the 67's were Eastern Conference champions.

Berry's play pushed the 67's all the way to the J. Ross Robertson Cup finals, being swept by the London Knights. Ottawa did not have a single player inside the top 10 in scoring. As the Knights were Memorial Cup hosts, the 67's entered the tournament.

Swift Current defeated the 67's 1-0 in the first game of round-robin play, and Shawinigan did the same in game two. Berry made 39 saves against London in game 3 of round-robin play in a 2-1 double-overtime win, and Ottawa played a rematch against Swift Current, but Philippe Trudeau was inexplicably put in net. The 67's lost 3-2.

Berry returned to Ottawa as an improved 16-year-old goalie ready to embrace the starting role with a season of experience and a deep playoff run already under his belt. During the offseason, Berry grew to 6 feet 8 inches and 182 pounds. He made his debut against Sault Ste. Marie on September 19, 2014, and allowed six goals on 24 shots. He somewhat rebounded against the Kitchener Rangers exactly a week later, making 26 stops in a 5-3 win. Berry struggled heavily in the beginning parts of the season, with several rough games.

Against the North Bay Battalion on September 23, 2014, Berry recorded his first OHL regular season shutout (he had two in the previous year's playoffs) in his 66th career regular season game, a 4-0 win. He made 16 saves, and followed it up with a 32-save shutout against the Kingston Frontenacs on November 3rd in a 5-0 win. Berry's problems with consistency resurfaced many times in the season, but he put up a 13-save shutout on February 5, 2015, against Belleville. At that point in the season, he had a .912 save percentage, good for fourth in the league. The 67's had rebounded from a poor start to the season yet again, with a 25-22-4 record. Berry grabbed his third shutout of the season on February 27th versus the Niagara IceDogs in a 3-0 win, making 21 saves, and posted his fourth against Oshawa just two days later, in a dominant 7-0 win. He made 36 saves. Berry rounded out the season with 31 saves in a 2-1 victory over Plymouth.

With a 33-31-4 record, the 67's made the playoffs as the seventh seed, drawing the Barrie Colts in the first round. Berry was expected to build on last year's playoff performance. The Colts gained 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 series leads before the 67's came back to tie the series on home ice every time. It came down to a game seven at Barrie Molson Centre, which Ottawa won in a 4-1 win on the strength of 30 saves from Berry, handing Barrie yet another disappointing season.

Round two was against Peterborough and the Petes, who had amassed a regular-season record of 48-18-2. The 67's were looking to upset yet another team. After going down 1-0 in the series, Berry notched his third post-season shutout with 26 saves to help Ottawa tie the series. When Ottawa went down yet again, Berry shut out Peterborough with 23 saves. In game 5, Berry weathered a storm of shots against to earn the 3-2 double-OT victory on Mike Vlajkov's second goal of the game, finishing with 39 saves on 41 shots. Berry stopped 34 in a 3-2 overtime win on home ice to lead the 67's to the conference finals yet again.

Kingston and the Frontenacs were the next matchup for the 67's. They had won seven in a row before game one. Berry stopped 35 shots out of 37, but the Frontenacs won 3-1 with an empty-net goal to extend their streak to eight. In game 2, he yet again made a valiant effort in a 2-1 loss, making 34 saves. The 67's could not find their offense until game three, when they were able to score thrice on 18 shots, coupled with 28 saves from Berry in a 3-1 win. Ottawa and Berry tied the series at two games apiece, scraping out a 2-1 win, with 27 saves from Berry (who claimed the game's first star honour for the third game in a row). In game five, Ottawa slammed Kingston 4-0, with a 30-save shutout coming from Berry, who extended his first-star streak to four games, an OHL record. Kingston fired 40 shots on Berry in game 6 and won 3-0, with Ottawa only getting 14 shots on net. The 67's had only 11 shots on net in game 7, but they scored twice and Berry stopped 41 in a 2-1 win, propelling the team to its second Eastern Conference championship.

Berry entered the OHL finals against Erie with a 2.00 goals-against-average and .935 save percentage, good for first in the league in the latter and second in the former. Ottawa was relying on Berry to shut down Erie, which had the top-three point scorers in the league entering the final. The 67's were shut out 2-0 with an empty net goal. Berry stopped 23 shots, but his counterpart at the other end, Otters rookie goaltender Trevor Gannon, made 21 saves. Berry made 28 saves in game 2, which Ottawa won 6-1 in an offensive explosion, chasing Gannon for backup Devin Williams at Canadian Tire Centre. Troy Henley won game 3 in double-overtime, 3-2, for the 67's, and Berry stopped 29 shots in a 3-1 win to make the series 3-1 as well. Erie defeated Ottawa in game 5, 4-1 with an empty-net goal, but the 67's won the J. Ross Robertson Cup with a 5-3 victory in game six. Berry made 25 saves on 28 shots, and Trevor Dulong won the game 4:25 into the third period. It was his third goal of the game.

Berry came into the 2015 Memorial Cup with previous experience, an advantage that no other goaltender in the tournament had. The 67's pulled out a 3-2 win against Sherbrooke on the strength of 29 saves from Berry, who was named second star. He, somewhat uncharacteristically, allowed three goals on 32 shots against Moncton, but rebounded with a 30-save shutout against the Edmonton Oil Kings. In the rematch against the Wildcats, Berry allowed a first-period goal 16:18 into the game, but held the fort until Ottawa responded with four unanswered goals to win the game, 4-1. He made 24 saves. The 67's were set for a rematch against the Phoenix for the Memorial Cup. Sherbrooke struck first, with Cole Murphy scoring 6:09 into the first period, but Connor Brown tied the game at one with 3:40 left in the second period. Dante Salituro scored with only four minutes and 33 seconds remaining, and it stood up as the game-winner. Sherbrooke had only one shot on net in the 4:33 separating the goal and the end of the game. Berry made 24 saves in the 2-1 win.

Berry returned to Ottawa for his draft year and the 2015-16 OHL season, and debuted on September 25, 2015, against Barrie. Berry made 35 saves in a 2-1 win, and was named first star of the game. It was the first time the 67's had won their first game of the season. He made 24 saves in a 1-0 shutout of the Oshawa Generals. Berry uncharacteristically allowed five goals on 30 shots in a third-period meltdown against the Knights, but the 67's won 6-5 in overtime. The 67's won 12 straight games to open the season, but lost to Belleville 3-2 in overtime (Liam Herbst was in goal). Despite Berry's excellent play throughout the season, he found himself relegated to backup role, despite Herbst's poor performances.

The season continued on with Berry projected to be selected in the first round of the draft. He made 35 saves against London in a 2-0 shutout. Berry made 29 saves in a fine 2-1 win over Windsor on February 7, 2016. While Berry was not seeing as many starts as other starting goaltenders in the OHL, he was still projected to be a first-round pick. Berry was also expected to start for Ottawa in the playoffs, as he had done the two previous years.

Due to him not receiving the majority of starts, Berry was expected to be traded away from the 67's, but no reports were made of Ottawa attempting to deal him to another team. His draft ranking continued to rise, and he was ranked as a probable top-5 pick. Berry shut out Oshawa with 35 saves in a 2-0 win on February 28th. Berry made his last start of the year against the Sudbury Wolves, and lost 3-2 in a shootout. He made 28 saves.

When Herbst was selected for the starting job, Berry was frustrated. His save percentage and goals-against-average were both league-leading numbers, and Berry allowed only 60 goals in 33 games. He had three shutouts. Nevertheless, the 67's swept Peterborough to move on to the second round. Ottawa was up against the Colts for the second straight postseason, but without Berry, the Colts defeated Ottawa four games to two. Berry was ranked as the top North American goaltender prospect for the upcoming draft. He was expected to be taken in the top five, although a top-2 or top-3 selection was probable.

On June 23, 2016, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected Berry first overall at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and negotiations between Berry and the Lightning began immediately. On July 1st, Tampa Bay announced that it had signed Berry to a 3-year, entry-level deal, worth $850,000 per year. Berry was expected to return to the 67's for another year of development, as he could not play in the American Hockey League (AHL), the NHL's primary development league.

Tampa Bay Lightning
Berry made his NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a pre-season game on September 26, 2016. He allowed three goals on 24 shots, but rebounded with 28 saves in a 6-1 win over Montreal two days later. He made 28 saves in a 2-1 loss to Boston two days after that. He stopped 25 in a 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings two days after that game. Berry finished the preseason 3-4-0 with a .922 save percentage and a 2.31 goals-against-average in seven games.

On October 15, 2016, Berry debuted against the Buffalo Sabres at Amalie Arena, the Lightning's first game of the season. Although Berry stopped 36 shots, the Lightning lost 4-1 with an empty-net goal. Berry won his first NHL game against Washington on October 21. He made 29 saves in the 4-2 victory. Berry ended up staying with the Lightning for the 2016-17 season.

Berry made 39 saves against Vancouver in a 3-2 shootout win. He made 33 saves in a 2-1 win against the Capitals on March 18, 2017, and got his first NHL shutout against the New Jersey Devils in a 4-0 win on March 31, 2017, making 21 saves. Berry then shut out the Philadelphia Flyers with 30 saves in a 2-1 win the night later. Tampa Bay made the playoffs with a record of 42-26-14, and matched up against the Canadiens in the first round. Berry ended the season 14-12-7 with a .926 save percentage and 2.20 goals-against-average, plus two shutouts.

In his NHL playoff debut, Berry allowed five goals on 33 shots in a 5-1 defeat at Bell Centre. He made 29 saves in game 2, which the Lightning won 4-3, for his first playoff win. Berry made 24 saves in his first playoff shutout in game 4, and the Bolts tightened their grip on the series 3 games to 1. He followed it up with a 30-save shutout against Montreal in game 5, and the Lightning pulled off four straight wins to eliminate the Canadiens 4-1.

The Lightning had home-ice advantage against their next opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Berry made 35 saves in the opening game, which Tampa Bay won 2-1. The Lightning won both games at home, and Berry shut out Columbus in game 3 with 25 saves, in a 5-0 win. The Blue Jackets avoided elimination in game 4, but Tampa Bay was able to win game 5. Berry left the contest 17:35 in after stopping 15 out of 15 shots, but he returned for round 2 against the New York Islanders.

Tampa Bay did not have home-ice advantage over New York. Carl Schmidmeyer shut out the Lightning with 26 saves in game 1, in a 2-0 win. Berry made 33 saves. The Lightning dropped game 2, but Berry made 19 saves in a game-3 shutout of his own, and the series went to seven games. The Lightning won 3-2, and moved on to the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals, where they would face the Edmonton Oilers for the Stanley Cup. The Oilers had a dominant regular-season record of 50-30-2.