The Montreal Canadiens announced on Christmas Eve that they had signed promising defenseman Bryce Pickford to a 3-year ELC.
It must have been a merry Christmas for defenseman Bryce Pickford. While Team Canada snubbed him for the World Junior Championships, his fantastic performance this season had the Montreal Canadiens take notice.
The Habs drafted the 19-year-old in the third round of the 2025 draft, with the 81st overall. As an alternate captain with the Medicine Hat Tigers in his draft season, the right-shot rearguard had put up 47 points in just 48 games and had a plus-34 rating.
This year, as the team’s captain, he is putting together a season for the ages. In 31 games so far, he has already gathered 44 points, including 25 goals, which is five more than he got last year and good enough for the lead in goals in the WHL. The second-highest goal scorer has 24 and is a right wing. The second-highest goal scorer on the blueline is his teammate Jonas Woo, who only has 16.
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With 25 goals so far, Pickford is on pace to score 53 goals; it wouldn’t be a record for a defenseman in the Western circuit. Troy Mick had three seasons of 63, 60, and 49 goals. But Mick is the only rearguard in league history to score more than 49 goals in a season, and his last season was 1989-90; it’s been a while.
Points wise, if he keeps the same pace, he could end up with 93 points, which would be the 25th highest total in league history for a blueliner. The above-mentioned Mick has the record with 147 points in the 1987-88 season.
Clearly the 6-foot-1 and 185-pound defenseman has done enough to convince the Canadiens that he has what it takes to take the next step in his hockey career next season. He is currently playing his fourth season in the WHL and has already won the league championship twice, in 2023-24 with the Seattle Thunderbirds and last season with the Tigers.
The Habs signed him to a 3-year ELC, which runs from the start of the 2026-27 season through the 28-2029 season. The youngster only needs three more points to match the career-high he set for himself last season.
In the Canadiens’ behind-the-scenes video from the last draft, co-director of amateur scouting Nick Bobrov had this to say about Pickford:
To me, I’m sold on Pickford, because the guy fights, he works out 24/7, he’s got a bomb. He wants to be a player, and he needs to be taught how to defend.- Nick Bobrov on Pickford.
While the season is far from over, Habs fans have one name to look out for at the next rookie camp in September.
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