Bryce Pickford Wins WHL Player of The Year

Before he was injured in late January with a suspected shoulder surgery, Pickford was on pace to reach 50 goals in a season, which would have tied him for the WHL record held by Lawrence Sacharuk, who completed the feat all the way back in the 1971-72 season with the Saskatoon Blades. It would have been quite the accomplishment had Pickford reached the 50-goal mark, but the 45-goal season still ended up being the best goal-scoring campaign by a defenseman since the beginning of the 21st century in the entire CHL (WHL, OHL, and QMJHL).

Given how great a season that Pickford had, it isn’t shocking to see that he won both Defenseman of the Year and Player of the Year in the WHL. There is still some chance that he is named the CHL Player of the Year as well, which will likely be announced after the Memorial Cup is given out. He will definitely have some competition from the players of the year in the OHL and WHL, but the reality is none of them have accomplished the records that Pickford had, which is something that should be considered when the winner of the CHL MVP is announced. The stuff Pickford accomplished this season will keep him in the WHL and CHL record books for a long time.

Sadly, despite being on one of the best teams in the WHL this year, Pickford and the Medicine Hat Tigers won’t be making an appearance in the national tournament, as they had fallen in 6 games to the Prince Albert Raiders on Sunday night, putting an end to the Habs prospect’s WHL career. He finished his final WHL playoffs with 6 goals and 12 points in 15 games, as opponents were able to slow down his goal scoring quite a bit after the first couple of games against each team that the Tigers played.

The next step could very well be joining the Laval Rocket if they make the next round of the AHL playoffs. Getting a head start on his pro career could be really good for his progression as a player, but it will also depend on if the Rockets are able to get through to the 3rd round of AHL playoffs. The Rocket are currently tied 2-2 in a best-of-5 series with the Toronto Marlies, with the 5th and deciding game taking place on Saturday afternoon at Place Bell.

It will be interesting to see if Pickford does in fact get a chance to play in the AHL, as it will allow us to get a better idea of where he truly is in his development in terms of pro before the offseason officially starts in the Habs organization.

Do you think Bryce Pickford will win Player of the Year in the CHL alongside the two awards he’s already won?