The Unexpected Journey of A Habs Prospect

One of the main reasons that things worked out so well when Pickford returned to play minor hockey in hopes of one day fulfilling his dreams of becoming an NHL player was because of how hard a worker he is in general. It wasn’t as if during his two years away from organized hockey he wasn’t working on improving his game; in fact, he probably did more to help himself reach the next level by working on his individual skills at his family farm’s gym. Pickford claimed that there were times when he had doubts about whether or not he could make it as a hockey player, as nobody would be able to see the work that he was putting in, but he never stopped grinding. The hard work he did in private would end up paying off.

Despite not playing during the 2021 season, the Seattle Thunderbirds took a chance on him in the 2nd round. During his first year, he played almost the entire season in the NAHL, where he got the chance to show his early offensive gifts, scoring 34 goals in 30 games while finishing 2nd in league scoring as a defenseman. That season was the first sign to show that he could be an offensive star someday. He did play two games with the Thunderbirds where he scored a goal to at least showcase what he could do.

Unfortunately, the offence wouldn’t come right away, as during the 2022-23 season, he would be playing a primarily shutdown role where he scored 5 goals and 17 points in 54 games while having a +25 rating. The Thunderbirds at the time were a stacked team full of top NHL prospects, so he was pushed down the lineup, but he had an overall solid rookie season, including winning a WHL championship alongside fellow Habs prospect Jared Davidson. However, in his next season, he didn’t really see improvements as he continued to be used in a shutdown role on a much weaker Thunderbirds team, where he finished the year with 2 goals and 17 points but had a -36 rating.

It’s well known now that playing a defensive role isn’t the most suitable thing for the Habs’ defensive prospect, as it’s his offensive game that is most intriguing; however, at the time of his original draft year, that wasn’t necessarily known. Pickford would go undrafted as an 18-year-old, and it would just motivate him to work even harder.

Something that clearly helped him develop into the player he has become is the fact that for years he would shoot 1000 pucks at his family farmhouse, which clearly developed his shot. A trade that summer to the Medicine Hat Tigers would be the change that Pickford needed to change his career for the better.

Pickford got to play alongside WHL stars like Gavin McKenna, Andrew Basha, and Oasiz Wiesblatt with the Tigers during the 2024-25 season. It was here that he could start finally showing how good of a shot he had by scoring 20 goals and 47 points in 48 games. The real breakout for Pickford was when he scored 13 goals and 24 points in 18 playoff games, helping the Tigers reach the Memorial Cup. He would also add 2 goals in 4 tournament games at the Memorial Cup.

His amazing overage season was enough to get him drafted by the Habs in the 3rd round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, but the best was yet to come. After being named captain for this season, Pickford took his goal scoring to a completely new level, where he now has 44 goals in 54 games with two more games to go in the regular season. That would be amazing for a forward, but the fact he’s a defenseman makes his accomplishment insane. Unless he gets back-to-back hat tricks to end the season, it’s very unlikely he hits 50 goals. However, he will have scored the most goals by a defenseman in the WHL over the last 40 years, which is extremely impressive nonetheless.

The story of Bryce Pickford is one that shows if you work hard, you could be a late bloomer that can make history. Not only is he a good scorer, but he also is a great leader, as his coaches have mentioned that he drives the team into the fight with his contagious work ethic.