The Montreal Canadiens third round draft pick, Bryce Pickford, has notched himself another accolade, this time in the form of the WHL’s Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy. The trophy is in recognition of the Western League’s top defenceman. Notable previous winners include Ivan Provorov, Tyson Barrie and Dion Phaneuf.
Following his 45-goal campaign, @CanadiensMTL prospect and @tigershockey captain Bryce Pickford is the recipient of the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as the WHL's Defenceman of the Year! #WHLAwards
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) May 5, 2026
📝 | https://t.co/jnXuQNisEc pic.twitter.com/wf2xWkaXsn
The Medicine Hat Tigers’ captain has had himself an astounding season, notching 45 goals, 38 assists for 83 points in just 55 regular-season games. While +/- is a flawed metric, it would be hard to deny his impressive +55 stat line as well.
Pickford had signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens back around the holiday season and hasn’t slowed down his impressive pace, including in the playoffs. In just 15 playoff games Pickford gained six goals and six assists for 12 points in the 15 playoff games played. Those will be his final points of the season as the Tigers were eliminated in game seven of their third-round series against the Prince Albert Raiders.
On top of his scoring prowess over the past season, the Edmonton, Alberta native backs up the point getting with point prevention. His sense of space and positioning are exemplary in both his ability to get open for a shot and his ability to cut off passing lanes and kill plays in the defensive zone.
With the possibility of David Reinbacher and/or Adam Engstrom making the big leap to the NHL in the 2026-2027 season, Laval may be looking to add some more firepower to their back-end, and no other defensive prospect seems quite as ready to make the leap to pro play like Pickford.
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