MONTREAL – Bryce Pickford identifies the summer of 2023 as decisive in his development.
It was during this off-season spent on the family farm located a 15-minute drive north of Chauvin, an Alberta village of 304 inhabitants*, that the defenseman perfected a shot that would contribute two years later to making him a prospect for the Montreal Canadiens.
Alongside his father and two younger brothers in a homemade shooting range made from planks of wood, Pickford drew and drew and drew.
Again and again.
“We threw 1000 pucks in each of our sessions. To the point where you have holes in your gloves and your hands are on fire from the blisters. It lasted for hours. It was hard,” he recently confided to RDS.ca.
During the season that followed his hard summer of work, the then 17-year-old rearguard initially struggled to put this throw to good use.
In 65 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds who were recovering from their WHL title the previous spring, Pickford was limited to 2 goals and 15 assists.
It took a trade to the Medicine Hat Tigers during the following off-season for Pickford to show his full potential last year, after being passed over in his first year of eligibility for the NHL draft.
Within a club counting in particular on Gavin McKenna and aspiring to great honors, Pickford collected almost a point per game with 20 goals and 27 assists in 48 games.
Then, he experienced dream series.
During the Tigers’ march to the WHL championship, the right-handed defenseman amassed 24 points in 18 games, notably scoring 13 goals with his killer shot, the most for a defenseman in the CHL since 2000.
When he arrived in Rimouski for the Memorial Cup, Pickford had also scored at least one goal in his last eight playoff games, a record in the modern WHL era.
But that was nothing compared to what was to come.
“I worked on my throwing throughout my childhood and always knew I had a good one. But this year, I imagine it’s the big outbreak. »
The selection of 3e round of the Habs in the last draft (81e) is at the time of writing the WHL’s top scorer, tied with Cameron Schmidt with 28 goals in 36 games. His 53 points place him at 5e rank of the best scorers. Named player of the month for December in the circuit, Pickford notably had a streak of five games with at least two goals.
His 12 goals scored on the power play – often with the help of a slap shot or a wrist shot taken from the top of the left faceoff circle – also allow him to compete with the best on the circuit in this phase of play.
It was enough for a possible 50-goal season to be mentioned by more and more observers. If he maintains his current pace, Pickford would complete the regular season with 52 goals and become the first defenseman since Troy Mick in 1990 to reach the plateau of 50 in the WHL.
“I think he doesn’t care,” said his head coach, Willie Desjardins, about all the attention his star player receives. Honestly, it’s not a priority for him. He’s not like that. All he wants is for the team to win. »
Like the good captain he has been since the start of the campaign, Pickford is unsurprisingly quick to give credit to his teammates for his remarkable offensive production.
She undoubtedly has something to do with it, while the Tigers are currently riding a series of 15 consecutive victories and fighting for the top of the general ranking. But it does not alone explain Pickford’s individual successes.
“He’s a much better skater [que lors des dernières séries] », Statue Desjardins. “He’s a lot faster and he had to adjust first to figure out how to exploit that speed. »
“Last year I just passed the puck, made the first pass and joined the attack. I always knew I had the skills to skate with the puck, but I wasn’t doing it in recent years because I was younger. The most important thing was to have confidence in myself and to know that I always had these skills. I now carry the puck a lot more and I am more and more comfortable. »
The management of the Canadiens undoubtedly agrees with this state of affairs, having already offered a three-year entry contract to its prospect on December 24.
“I don’t think I deserved a contract because of the season I’m having. It kind of happened out of nowhere and I wasn’t expecting it, but I’m very grateful. »
When he left rookie camp last fall, the development specialists of the Montreal organization obviously recommended that he work on his defensive game, which he does effectively according to his teacher.
“He is improving more and more, he is proud of it. When you’re expected to play an offensive role, it’s not easy to be as good in both directions, but he’s better defensively,” observes Desjardins.
“It’s a lot better than last year,” agrees the man who has a plus-42 differential, the second best in the WHL behind that of his blue line partner, Jonas Woo (plus-45).
“I think I have to be better at blocking my opponents against the rail in the defensive zone, because sometimes I tend to watch them and let them play. I have to move my feet more to slow them down. »
Now 19 years old, Pickford still has one season of eligibility in the junior ranks to refine this aspect of his game before making the jump to the pros.
Like other Habs prospects in the past, including Tyler Thorpe last spring, Pickford could be offered a spot with the Laval Rocket in the American League once the Tigers’ season is over if the stars align.
Asked if his protégé’s skills could then translate to the next level, Desjardins expressed no doubt about his ability to achieve this.
“I think I’m more than capable of taking on this role if given the opportunity,” says Pickford. It will depend on the team’s results, but yes, if they call me back at the end of the season, I would be honored to join them and be part of this team. »
*Data from the most recent Statistics Canada census in 2021.
