Montreal Canadiens prospect and 81st overall pick at the 2025 draft, Bryce Pickford, had himself a game on Wednesday night, scoring a hat trick in the Medicine Hat Tigers’ 6-3 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings. In 49 games, the right-shot defenseman has 41 goals, the second-highest total in the league behind right-winger Cameron Smith, who has 43 goals, but he’s scored his in 63 games.
With seven games left in the Tigers’ regular season, it’s far from out of the question that Pickford could reach the 50-goal milestone, a feat only accomplished twice in league history by a defenseman. Blueliner Troy Mick scored 63 goals in 1987-88 and 60 in 1989-90 and was drafted in the seventh round of the 1988 draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, but never made it to the NHL, which goes to show that success in the WHL doesn’t necessarily guarantee success in the NHL.
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As things stand, Pickford has 76 points in just 49 games, the 10th highest total in the league and the second highest amongst defensemen, two points behind leader Jonas Woo, who plays with him on the first pairing in Medicine Hat.
The 19-year-old Pickford was passed over in the 2024 draft, but his 47 points in 48 games performance in 2024-25 convinced the Canadiens to draft him, and so far, that has proven to be an excellent decision. On Christmas Eve, the Habs even signed him to a three-year entry-level contract, which kicks in at the start of the 2026-27 season.
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There’s no denying that the Canadiens have a lot of depth when it comes to left-shot defensemen, but the situation is far from ideal when it comes to right-shot ones. Martin St-Louis only has two right-shot rearguards on his roster right now: Noah Dobson and Alexandre Carrier, which forces him to use Kaiden Guhle on his off-side. Down with the Laval Rocket, David Reinbacher is the only right-shot defenseman who seems to have NHL upside, and his development hasn’t exactly gone according to plan so far. Could Pickford be used as part of a package to secure some immediate help?
Yesterday, news broke that the New Jersey Devils could be willing to part with right-shot blueliner and second overall pick at the 2022 draft, Simon Nemec, Juraj Slafkovsky’s teammate at the Olympics. Given the fact that Martin St-Louis seems to have little trust in Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble, one must wonder if Kent Hughes shouldn’t pounce on this opportunity. The Devils are struggling to find the back of the net this season, and perhaps an offer featuring rookie Oliver Kapanen, who has 19 goals so far, Pickford, who’s showing great potential in the WHL, and a draft pick could tempt Tom Fitzgerald.
Pickford is still some time away from being ready for the NHL, and acquiring Nemec would help the team now. He could slot right into the lineup and reestablish the balance between right-shot and left-shot defensemen, allowing everyone to play on their right side.
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