The Red Wings signed 25-year-old defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker to a 1-year, $875,000 contract on July 1st, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted an article in which he discusses Bernard-Docker’s pluses and minuses:
“Just being hard to play against, being annoying and kind of always on guys and trying to be physical when I can,” Bernard-Docker listed as his objective when he’s on the ice.
At the same time, Bernard-Docker admits that when it comes to that element of his game, he needs to find more consistency in his performance.
“That’s another part of my game in the NHL, I feel like maybe hasn’t been as consistent as I want it to be, is just like the physicality aspect,” Bernard-Docker said. “And there’s been some games where I think I’ve shown that I can do that. Other games maybe are where it’s not as apparent.”
Bernard-Docker may also prove of value to the club in another area where the Red Wings came up lacking during the 2024-25 NHL campaign. He’s viewed in NHL circles as being a more than capable penalty killer. Detroit was last in the NHL in that department last season. The Red Wings were successfully killing off just 70.1% of the club’s shorthanded situations.
“I think that’s one area that I was really able to develop and show kind of when I played in the minors and is an area that I think maybe I haven’t shown as much as I’d like to in the NHL yet,” Bernard-Docker said of his work on the PK. “And I think it’s an area that I know is a really strong part of my game. I’m willing to block shots. I think I’m pretty good with my stick.”
