Underrated Prospect Update: Bryce Pickford

As of recently, he has slowed down offensively from the start of the season, where he managed to put up 4 goals and 2 assists in his first 3 games of the WHL campaign, but he has maintained the ability to bring his offense from the back end. Since his insane start to the season, he has put up 3 goals and 3 assists in the following 10 games to give him 12 points in 13 games after the first full month of the WHL season. 

Pickford’s greatest quality is none other than his booming shot from the point that has allowed him to become a premier offensive defenseman in the WHL. He can also be used to quarterback a power play, but he is best suited on the back end, being set up to take a booming shot. He also brings some good leadership to the table as the Tigers captain for the 2025-26 season. He has great qualities to be an NHL defenseman, but he is lacking in some areas of his game.

The main reason that he may be underrated is that his defensive game doesn’t stand out most of the time, which makes it hard to project whether he will be an NHL regular someday. He seems to be working more on his defensive game, which gives him hope of making the NHL someday. It still needs improvement before he can be seen as one of the Habs’ top prospects.

With the current depth in the organization, it may be hard for him to make the Habs as a late bloomer who really broke out for the first time during the 2024-25 season. He is likely a high ceiling, low floor pick that can be a boom or bust, but the risk may be worth it.

Like Simon “the Snake” Boisvert has mentioned in the past on the Trust The Process Sick Podcast, it’s more fun to take players with a high upside but low floor that can potentially become something than go for a safer pick that may have a higher floor but low ceiling. Honestly, oftentimes even those perceived with low ceilings but a high floor don’t even reach the floor they were expecting to have. 

Whenever I think of a low-ceiling, high-floor pick that didn’t pan out, I think about the Colorado Avalanche first-round pick back in the 2014 NHL Draft, Connor Bleakley, who was seemingly seen as a safe pick to become a 3rd line centre in the NHL, but after being drafted, he never even came close and tailed off quickly as a prospect. He eventually went unsigned and was re-drafted for a 2nd time by the St. Louis Blues in 2016, who took a flyer on him, in hopes that he could turn into what the Avalanche initially thought he would be. It didn’t work out, but for the Blues, it was worth a shot to see if the prospect could become something. 

Using the thought of taking a safe pick is rarely the right move for a team, and this goes beyond just the 1st round, as most of the time, the players who become something from the middle rounds of the draft are often guys who have high potential but a low floor. This is exactly the type of player Pickford is seemingly looking to be if he does make the NHL. 

In reality, Pickford could either become an NHL defenseman who brings offense to a 3rd pairing or be an AHL lifer if he can’t raise his defensive game to the next level. Nonetheless, because of his shot, he is considered an underrated prospect who has himself somewhat of a chance of playing in the NHL.

Do you think Pickford could play for the Canadiens someday?