Jean-Francois Berube, G
Catches: L	Height: 6-1	Weight: 170
Born: 1991-07-13	Hometown: Repentigny, QC.	Drafted: 2009 by Los Angeles Kings, 95th Overall

 

Observations:

 

January 2017 – Merry Christmas JFB, you’re an undisputed backup in the NHL, for a while. Jaroslav Halak was given a stocking of coal and assigned to Bridgeport. Islanders have done a poor job of utilizing their goaltending assets, and are not out of the woodwork yet. Berube will need to make a quick impression the rest of this season as Ilya Sorokin is coming, his play will either speed up or slowdown the development plan within the organization. He will need to play well visually on the ice as the poor defensive squad in front of him will be unlikely to allow him to maintain numbers of fantasy quality on paper, but we can give him a participation medal and hope that in the future he will get to backstop a team of substance in upcoming years. Jason Banks

 

July 2016 – The Islanders re-signed Jean-Francois Berube to a one year, two-way deal on July 5, 2016. Given that Halak and Greiss are both signed for the upcoming season, Berube will be the third string option in Brooklyn. However, since he is not exempt  from waivers, the Isles risk losing him if they try to assign him to Bridgeport. This means that he is likely to stay up with the big club for the entire season in 2016-17, but will not get much playing time unless there is an injury. Brent Craswell

 

May 2016 – J.F. Berube had a trying 2015-16.  He lost out on the backup job in L.A. to Jhonas Enroth and was claimed off waivers by the Islanders after Jaroslav Halak went down with an injury in training camp.  In five AHL games, Berube posted a .960 save percentage, lending credence to the notion that there is nothing much left for him to learn at that level.  Berube is currently serving as Greiss’ backup in the playoffs, but with the German playing very well and Halak on the verge of returning, Berube likely will not get any ice time until next year.  He will end 2015-16 having played only 12 games.  That is not an ideal amount for a 24 year-old goalie who still has room to develop.  With both Halak and Greiss signed for 2016-17, it will be interesting to see what Snow does with his third net minder.   Berube is certainly ready for a backup job in the NHL – it just might not end up being with the Islanders. Brent Craswell

 

March 2015 – Berube has thrived in his first full season as Manchester's go-to guy, as he's pacing the league in wins and is near the top in goals against. Fundamentally sound and blessed with a nimble glove, the 23-year-old is making things interesting on upper management. He can't go back to the AHL next year without passing through waivers, current Kings backup Martin Jones is a RFA, and Los Angeles will be facing a cap crunch. Sheng Peng

 

January 2014 – With the trade of Ben Scrivens to Edmonton and the subsequent graduation of Martin Jones to the Kings, Berube has become the lesser known third option for LA in between the pipes and the new leader of the Manchester Monarchs. He is a very technical goalie with ‘ok’ size but he plays much bigger than his attributes. He  has strong leg pushes post to post. Experts mention his ‘lack of exposure’ regularly but we don’t see anything wrong with his experiences to date as he has played a decent number of games in the past five seasons including appearing in playoffs every season. At 22-years-old, Berube has a couple of years to prove himself as a workhorse in the AHL but he has had success at every level so expectations are that he will remain a solid prospect for the Kings. Jason Banks

 

Fantasy Outlook: B-

 

Berube looks more like NHL-backup material at this point, but as he has done his entire professional career, the French-Canadian may surprise us yet.

 

Footage:

 

Watching Berube against Providence:

 

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Buy the latest Fantasy Prospects Report here.

 

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