DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings have agreed to terms with defenseman on a one-year contract worth $875,000.
The 25-year-old blueliner split the 2024-25 season between the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres. In 25 games with Ottawa, he tallied four points (1 goal, 3 assists), a plus-two rating, and four penalty minutes. He then added another four points (1-3-4), a plus-three rating, and 13 penalty minutes in 15 appearances with Buffalo. During the 2023-24 season, Bernard-Docker spent most of the year with the Senators, recording 14 points (4-10-14) and 25 penalty minutes in 72 games. He also appeared in two games for the AHL’s Belleville Senators that same season.
Drafted 26th overall by Ottawa in the 2018 NHL Draft, Bernard-Docker has accumulated 24 points (6-18-24) and 57 penalty minutes in 144 NHL games since debuting in 2020-21. In the AHL, he logged 15 points (4-11-15), a plus-16 rating, and 59 penalty minutes over 101 games with Belleville from 2021 to 2024.
Before turning pro, Bernard-Docker played three seasons at the University of North Dakota, where he totaled 60 points (15-45-60), a plus-35 rating, and 38 penalty minutes in 95 games from 2018 to 2021. As a junior, he was named the NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year and earned Second Team All-NCHC honors, helping UND win both the Penrose Cup and NCHC Frozen Faceoff title in 2020-21. He also helped the team claim the regular-season championship the year before.
A native of Canmore, Alberta, Bernard-Docker played junior hockey with the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers, posting 63 points (27-36-63) and 46 penalty minutes across 103 games from 2016-18. Internationally, he won gold with Team Canada at both the 2021 IIHF World Championship and the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship. He also earned a gold medal at the 2017 World Junior A Challenge with Canada White, contributing three points (1-2-3) in five games.
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