It’s well known that the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] have one of the deepest pools of prospects in the NHL, thanks to years of high draft picks. One of their most successful prospects this past season has been right-shot defenseman Bryce Pickford. The third-round pick who was selected 81st overall by the Habs at the 2025 draft has had a season for the ages with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL. On Monday, the CHL announced that Pickford had been named the defenseman of the year [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-prospect-named-chl-defenceman-of-the-year], thanks to an 83-point season, which included 45 goals and saw him finish the campaign with a plus-55 rating. No defenseman has scored more goals than Pickford in the last 40 years, and he’s impressed the Canadiens so much in the early goings of the season that he was signed to his ELC just before Christmas. The Canadiens Won’t Have To Imitate The Hurricanes [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/the-canadiens-won-t-have-to-imitate-the-hurricanes] Canadiens Potential Draft Target: Xavier Villeneuve [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-potential-draft-target-xavier-villeneuve] Three Former Canadiens Are Now Stanley Cup Champions [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/three-former-canadiens-are-now-stanley-cup-champions] However, the news wasn’t all good on Monday, as The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler reported that the prospect may need shoulder surgery this offseason after playing through an injury this season. While this is definitely not good news, it’s impressive that he was able to perform the way that he has, considering the injury. While Pickford has had a dominant season in the WHL, it’s important to remember that the step between that junior league and professional hockey is a steep one. Given where the Canadiens are in their rebuild, it will also be interesting to see whether they choose to let him develop or include him in a package for some immediate help [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-prospect-could-be-great-trade-chip]. Some would advocate that trading a right-shot defenseman when he has that much potential would be ill-advised, and it’s certainly not a course of action that would have been entertained back in 2022, but things have changed since then. The playoffs have made it obvious that the Canadiens need another right-shot defenseman, preferably one who can handle top-four minutes. If the Canadiens aren’t convinced that David Reinbacher can be that player, they may need to go outside of the organization to fill that need. You have to give something to get something, as they say, and they won’t get an established right-shot blueliner if they do not dangle an enticing asset in front of a possible trade partner. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News. Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I].
