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Top 20 Canadiens Prospects: Pickford Elite Scoring Pace
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- Top 20 Canadiens Prospects: Pickford Elite Scoring Pace
Top 20 Canadiens Prospects: Pickford Elite Scoring Pace
The Montreal Canadiens have picked several talented players in recent drafts, but few have impressed as much as Bryce Pickford.
Even fewer, if any, have managed to score more goals.
Pickford finished his final year in the WHL with jaw-dropping offensive results, scoring 45 goals and 38 assists in just 55 games.
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Of course, scoring 45 goals in junior hockey is not unheard of, but for the most part this elite accomplishment is achieved by forwards. The reason Pickford's goal tally in the WHL has garnered so much attention is that he's not a forward, but rather a defenceman.
To make matters more interesting, Pickford actually missed a few games with injuries throughout the season, implying that he could have easily reached the 50-goal mark if he had enjoyed a little better luck in the health department.
Due to his record-setting season, Habs fans ranked Pickford as the No.6 prospect in our annual vote.
Previously published Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings
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No. 6 – Bryce Pickford – 20 – Defenceman – Shoots Right – 6'1″ – 186b – Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) – Drafted 81st Overall 2025
The first thing that stands out when evaluating Pickford's excellent season is that he scores in various ways.
In other words, he's far from a one-trick pony.
He has an excellent one-timer, which he uses as often as possible on the power play to create chaos in the offensive zone. If his one-timer does not beat the goaltender cleanly, it will often generate a second-chance scoring opportunity. Those rebounds are easy money for forwards who have the foresight to quickly make their way to the net whenever Pickford has the puck.
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He also possesses a solid wrist shot, though it's not necessarily the heaviest shot in his repertoire. Once he masks his release, Pickford uses elite accuracy to pick out the available corners.
On that note, I'd argue his one-timer is also guided by high-end accuracy, Pickford's offensive calling card.
In the interest of nuance, it must be noted that Pickford was much older than the majority of his competition in the WHL last season, and that 19 of his goals came on the powerplay. That being said, the fact remains that he outscored the vast majority of the players in the league, with forward Cameron Schmidt (51 goals) serving as the only player who scored more often, though he did so with the advantage of playing 17 additional games.
To put a fine point on his impact, Winnipeg Jets prospect Jonas Woo, Pickford's defensive partner, led the league in defenceman assists, with a ridiculous 57 helpers to his name. Of course, we don't want to remove any credit from Woo, because he's an excellent prospect, but there's certainly a correlation between his improved production and his usage alongside Pickford.
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Seeing as he was used whenever the Tigers needed their best players on the ice, Pickford even managed to score from almost 200 feet away, using his backhand to simultaneously clear a goal-line puck, while expertly directing it to the opponents' open net.
However, we shouldn't assume that Pickford is addicted only to scoring goals, as he's shown time and again that his playmaking skills are well above average. On most plays, using his shot is the best option, but he's not shy about creating time and space in the offensive zone before finding a teammate with a simple but efficient pass.
He rarely hesitates to drive the net, a situation that yielded an endless stream of high-quality scoring chances for the Tigers.
Pickford Projection
Historically speaking, no other defenceman in the 21st century has managed to score more goals in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) than Bryce Pickford did for the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2025-26.
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But there's much more to hockey than simply scoring goals.
Pickford's skating could stand to be improved, and his defensive prowess is far from elite. Oftentimes, his defensive miscues are a result of a lack of concentration or simply a bad decision that could have easily been avoided. Gap control and positioning are two issues that will have to be ironed out if he's to earn a job in the NHL.
He's set to join the Laval Rocket in 2026-27, which will give him access to a professional coaching team, not to mention the Montreal Canadiens' development squad—the perfect situation for an imperfect prospect.
The good news is that defensive awareness, timing, and decision-making can be improved, whereas innate offensive instincts cannot be taught.
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Besides, if we're being honest, there's no such thing as a perfect prospect, unless we're discussing the first overall pick in some (but not all) draft classes.
Pickford joins the Laval Rocket as the reigning WHL Top Defenceman, WHL Player of the Year, and CHL Defenceman of the Year, making him one of the most exciting and most promising players in the entire Montreal Canadiens organization.
He's also a right-handed blueliner, increasing his long-term value to the club.
A relatively conservative projection of his potential ceiling would see him become a top-four defenceman in the NHL who earns his keep while providing the bulk of his offence on the power play.
All Montreal Canadiens prospect and Bryce Pickford statistics via Elite Prospects.
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