Canadiens prospect Pickford named Tempo WHL Player of the Week

Calgary, Alta. – The Western Hockey League announced today Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman and Montreal Canadiens prospect Bryce Pickford has been named Tempo WHL Player of the Week for the week ending Sunday, December 7.

Pickford, a 19-year-old product of Chauvin, Alta., registered eight points (7G-1A) and a plus-6 rating in three games as the Tigers went 3-0-0-0 this past week.

Selected by the Canadiens in the third round (81st overall) of the 2025 NHL Draft, the 6-foot-1, 186-pound blueliner logged three multi-goal performances this week, starting with a three-point night (2G-1A) Wednesday, December 3, as the Tigers thumped the Prince Albert Raiders by a 7-1 score. The veteran WHL rearguard provided the primary helper on Misha Volotovskii’s opening goal of the contest, before registering the eventual game-winning goal 7:40 into the first period. Midway through the second period, Pickford converted on a power play to claim his second goal of the evening, giving the Tigers a commanding 6-0 advantage. He was named first star of the game.

Pickford continued to pour it on offensively with his second consecutive two-goal game as the Tigers edged the Moose Jaw Warriors in overtime by a 4-3 margin on Friday, December 5. With the Warriors leading 3-1 late in the second period, Pickford found the back of the net seven seconds before intermission, clawing Medicine Hat back within one. After rookie forward Noah Davidson tied the game 18 seconds into the third period, it was Pickford registering the game-winning goal a mere 20 seconds into overtime to deliver the Tigers to a sixth consecutive victory. The Habs prospect was once again named first star of the contest.

If back-to-back two-goal performances wasn’t good enough already, Pickford layered on with the first hat trick of his WHL career as Medicine Hat trounced the Wenatchee Wild by a 5-1 score Saturday, December 6. Pickford’s first goal of the outing camp 8:15 into the first period and went on to stand as the game-winning strike. Midway through the second period, he found the back of the net for a second time, once again converting a power-play opportunity to make it 3-0 for the host Tigers. After Wenatchee hit the scoresheet, Pickford once again made good on a Medicine Hat power play, giving the Tigers a 4-1 lead heading into the second intermission, completing the hat trick and becoming the first WHL defenceman and second WHL player to reach the 20-goal plateau this season. For the third consecutive night, Pickford was named first star of the game.

With 36 points (20G-16A) in 28 games, Pickford is tied with teammate Jonas Woo for the WHL lead in scoring amongst defencemen. His 20 goals rank second among all WHL skaters, trailing only forward JP Hurlbert of the Kamloops Blazers (21 goals).

Pickford, who was named the 42nd captain in Medicine Hat Tigers history on September 22, has produced 12 multi-point games this season, including five games with three points. Over an active five-game point-scoring streak dating back to November 28, he has collected 12 points (8G-4A).

Coming out of the weekend, the Tigers (19-6-3-2) rank third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and have collected points in 11 consecutive outings (9-0-1-1).

Next up, Pickford and the Tigers host the Moose Jaw Warriors (12-13-2-1) on Friday, December 12 (7 p.m. MT) at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat.

Tempo WHL Player of the Week

September 22, 2025: Ethan Semeniuk, Moose Jaw Warriors
September 29, 2025: JP Hurlbert, Kamloops Blazers
October 6, 2025: Matias Vanhanen, Everett Silvertips
October 14, 2025: Noah Kosick, Swift Current Broncos
October 20, 2025: Kooper Gizowski, Prince George Cougars
October 27, 2025: Caden Brown, Regina Pats
November 3, 2025: Max Curran, Edmonton Oil Kings
November 10, 2025: Luke Mistelbacher, Brandon Wheat Kings
November 17, 2025: Liam Ruck, Medicine Hat Tigers
November 24, 2025: JP Hurlbert, Kamloops Blazers
December 1, 2025: Tarin Smith, Everett Silvertips

About the Western Hockey League

Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 23 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and six in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada’s National Junior Hockey Team.