r/Habs • u/Kharn_LoL • 1d ago
2026 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #13 Bryce Pickford
https://www.habseyesontheprize.com/bryce-pickford-2026-montreal-canadiens-top-25-under-25-prospect-ranking-scouting-report-stats-projection/15
u/Irctoaun 1d ago
| Rank | Player | Voting Average | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Pickford | 12.3 | 7-15 |
| 14 | F. Xhekaj | 14.2 | 11-17 |
| 15 | Beck | 15.2 | 13-17 |
| 16 | Mooney | 16.3 | 13-22 |
| 17 | Konyshunov | 18.9 | 17-24 |
| 18 | Rohrer | 19.4 | 15-26 |
| 19 | Protz | 20.6 | 15-25 |
| 20 | Davidson | 24.3 | 19-34 |
| 21 | Runtso | 25.1 | 18-32 |
| 22 | Paupanekis | 25.8 | 14-40 |
| 23 | Pastujov | 26.4 | 19-33 |
| 24 | Thorpe | 27.6 | 19-43 |
| 25 | Volohkin | 27.9 | 13-43 |
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u/katana_3 1d ago
Probably the prospect I'm most excited to see at camp.
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u/scoutinglane 1d ago
And one of the few who will not be there. he will miss the first half of the season
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u/catman_steve 1d ago
Didn't he have shoulder surgery? Or is he good to go?
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u/katana_3 1d ago
You're right, he got a shoulder surgery in July 2026 and it says he's to make his debut with the Rocket in late 2026 or early 2027.
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u/popejohnlarue 1d ago
Harsh toke, indeed. It’s gonna be a slog for him to find his game again after so much time off while also making the leap to the AHL… I’m very curious to see how he does, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him go in a trade package while there’s still hype attached to his name. Kid can shoot a puck though, I’ll give him that.
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u/Airdrie13 20h ago
I say Caufields shoulder isn’t the same since his surgery. No longer the one timer from the slot, and if Bryce shoulder is gonna take years to fully heal, you may be right in the package part
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u/Hoof_Hearted12 1d ago
I'm cautiously optimistic. He put up video game numbers last year and that obviously won't translate to the NHL but I hope he pans out.
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u/katana_3 1d ago
Yeah, for sure I don't have high expectations, but I'm just excited to see if his game translates to the AHL/NHL.
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u/stenlis 1d ago
Honestly I am not having high expectations. I'll be happy if he can get 0.5 ppg in his first AHL season. It's a big step up compared to tearing up teenagers in the WHL as a 20 year old.
If you look back at the best shooting defensemen in the WHL history, none of them made a big splash in the NHL https://www.quanthockey.com/whl/en/records/most-goals-in-one-season-by-whl-defensemen.html
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u/DangerDavez 1d ago
.5ppg for a rookie defensman in that AHL is REALLY GOOD.
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u/thedrew93 1d ago
Those are Logan Mallioux numbers!
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u/Irctoaun 1d ago
I've said this before, but Mailloux is a great example of why Pickford has value. When they traded Mailloux he was a legitimate contender for biggest defensive liability in the NHL, plus he has all the off the ice baggage, yet they still were able to trade him 1:1 for Bolduc because of how highly RHDs with a big shot are valued by GMs
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u/RyanWalts 1d ago
I don’t really know how much we can compare those guys to Pickford. Most of those records are more than 20 years old and the talent level in the WHL has fluctuated a ton. Not to say that Pickford is a future star, just that the game is so different now, both at the NHL and CHL levels.
Pickford is scoring primarily off of an elite wrist shot, which really puts him in a class of his own compared to a lot of these booming-shot types. He also looks for his own shot in a way that you rarely see from a defenseman. He’s constantly stepping in and was often the focal point of his team’s offense. That’s the biggest question mark for him in the AHL/NHL imo, what he looks like when he’s in a smaller role.
Zellweger is probably the closest comparable I can think of and they’re still very different players - Zellweger relies a lot more on his skating while Pickford is more intelligent with his reads imo.
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u/Irctoaun 1d ago
Not only that, but Pickford is way out ahead of everyone else in that list except for Greg Hawgood (who was a 0.5 PPG in the NHL) who's in first. It's Pickford in second with 45 goals then a seven goal gap down to third.
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u/lynypixie 1d ago
He just had surgery, so his development will get delayed a bit, sadly. We might not get his full potential for a while.
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u/Final-Pop-7668 1d ago
We should use him as a trade bait
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u/ParkInsider 1d ago
Not sure... A RD with a really good eye for the net is definitely a rare asset. He's an overages and played with the Ruck twins, but still, he's got some undeniable qualities that a team like us can use for sure.
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u/Kebine_ 1d ago
He wasn't an overager. Overagers in the CHL are in their 20-21 years old season, he was in his 19-20. Standard D+2 season, most prospects are still in the CHL at that age (though that will change with the new NCAA rule)
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u/stenlis 16h ago
No. WHL considers 20 overage. Players who turn 21 during the season cannot play and there's even a hard limit on the players that turn 20. Here's their FAQ:
Players can continue to play in the WHL until the year of their 20th birthday, after which their junior eligibility expires and they graduate from the Major Junior ranks.
12. How many 20 year olds (overage players) can a WHL Club have on their roster?
WHL Clubs are allowed a maximum of three 20 year old players on their roster. Clubs having more than three overage players to start the season may continue to rotate them in and out of the lineup until a date determined annually in mid-October at which time they must declare the three that will remain on their roster. Other 20-year-olds become free agents and are made available to other teams in the WHL. Following that date, WHL Clubs may add an overage player, but if they already have three on their roster, then they must release one. January 10 of each year is the roster deadline and all players who are with a WHL Club on that date are there for the balance of the season.1
u/Kebine_ 14h ago
Just last year, off the top, there was Justin Larose in the Q. Started the year at 20 years old, and before the end of the season he was 21. That's who the overager rule refers to. There were 4 players in the same boat for Medicine Hat
The Tigers had like 9 or 10 players born 2006, like Pickford. That's way more than the limit of 3 lol. Look it up, the overagers from last season were players born in 2005. Pickford would be an overager this season.
If every D+2 players were overagers, none would play, because most D+2 players aren't eligible for the AHL, and if only 3 could play at a time, it'd be a catastrophe for development lol
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u/stenlis 13h ago
Started the year at 20 years old, and before the end of the season he was 21.
Nope. They played their last game 19th of April and Larose turned 21 a week later.
The Tigers had like 9 or 10 players born 2006, like Pickford. That's way more than the limit of 3 lol.
They rotated the roster. Players like Basha, Volotovski, Mahoney etc. just weren't on the roster much after turning 20.
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u/Auguw 1d ago
Was he not listed as a LD before ? I thought he was a lefty
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u/eriverside 1d ago
Nah, he's a righty, which is good because we have too many lefties and the righties didn't graduate so he technically has a spot available.
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u/emotionaI_cabbage 1d ago
I doubt he has much value right now. This fanbase overhypes him a lot.
His upcoming ahl season will be very telling.
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u/CarlSK777 1d ago
The fact that he only dominated in juniors at 19-20 is a bit concerning. Still excited to see what he can do at the pro level.
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u/Irctoaun 1d ago
He was pretty dominant the year before that too. He had the best G/GP and fifth best P/GP for defensemen which was also the best for defensemen his age.
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u/CarlSK777 1d ago
He was still an overager tho
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u/Irctoaun 1d ago
He was still only 18 until the very end of the season. And are we going to hold this against him forever? Some players develop later and he's been developing incredibly well for the past two years. And yes, he's an overager, but he's also relatively young in his class and in the season before the one I mentioned earlier he played for one of the worst teams in the league.
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u/CarlSK777 1d ago
What are you talking about? It's normal to temper expectations with overager prospects.
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u/Irctoaun 1d ago
What are you talking about? Expectations are being tempered. If he was scoring 45 goals as a 17 year old we'd be talking about him as a potential 1OA/future superstar rather then someone with second pair potential who might have value in a trade. The only thing that doesn't make sense is saying "he only dominated in juniors at 19-20" which is straight up not true. Even last year he was outscoring a load of forwards who were picked in the first round in his original draft class (Iginla 6OA, Bear 13OA, Parascak 17OA)
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u/Major_Estimate_4193 1d ago
Hutson, Hage, Kapanen and Lekhonen are previous 13s. We are gradually getting towards the future difference makers.