PHOTO COURTESY LARRY BRUNT/SPOKANE CHIEFS
Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Bryce Pickford skates by the bench to celebrate one of his two goals in the second period of a 5-2 Game 4 win Wednesday at Spokane over the Chiefs in the WHL Championship series.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
All it takes is one shot.
To find success, take a step and move on to the next level, it takes but one shot to make it happen.
It’s why Bryce Pickford spent his summer and his downtime during the WHL season firing shot after shot on the ice and off, firing away at goaltender outlines or empty nets.
Grip, pull back and release. Windup, smack, follow through. Hours and hours of work is paying off for the 19-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman on the WHL’s biggest stage.
The Chauvin, Alta. product is leading the Tigers from the back end with five goals and six points in the WHL Championship series, with two of his goals coming in the Tigers’ 5-2 Game 4 win Wednesday at Spokane, giving the Tigers a 3-1 lead over the Chiefs entering Game 5 on Friday. He scored the empty net goal in Friday’s championship clinching 4-2 win.
He finishes the playoffs with an eight-game goal streak, the modern era record in the WHL. He also has a nine-game point streak coming out of Game 5. Pickford’s playoff total of 13 goals and 24 points in 18 games is the modern record for defenceman goals in single postseason, surpassing NHLers Olen Zellweger and Denton Mateychuk.
His 13 goals are the most scored by a CHL defenceman in the playoffs since 2000.
Shot, after shot, after shot. It’s work he takes a lot of pride in, and while he’s putting the puck mercifully past goaltenders, it’s his teammates he credits.
“I put in countless hours of shooting, so I’m just thankful that it’s starting to pay off now,” Pickford said. “But I don’t think I could do without my teammates setting me up in the spots I get put in. So I’m pretty thankful.”
He still gets left open at the top of the circles on the power play, where he can unleash the laser from the right side that has put him on this path of breaking records. He sometimes can’t believe he gets left open for that shot at this point of the season.
“I definitely lick my chops a little bit,” Pickford said. “But I’ve just had the success from my teammates setting me up at that spot.”
It’s not just the playoffs where Pickford has found the back of the net. The 2025 NHL Draft prospect was leading WHL defenceman in goals before he went down with injury on Feb 1. He finished at 20, adding 27 assists as well in 48 games, just two goals behind defenceman leader Justice Christensen of the Prince Albert Raiders.
The offensive success from the Tigers’ blue liner isn’t a surprise to head coach Willie Desjardins, who says he’s more than just his booming shot.
“He has a great shot, he sees the ice well, (scoring) seven games in a row is a lot,” Desjardins said postgame Wednesday via the WHL’s stream press conference. “But he doesn’t play that way, it’s not like that’s what he’s looking for. He plays a team game and they’re just coming because he plays a team game.”
Playing for the crest and the orange and black is something Pickford takes a lot of pride in. He can’t talk about himself without bringing up his teammates, giving them the credit. It’s an approach and mindset that Pickford has long had.
He’s also had high-calibre teammates to learn from, playing alongside NHL prospects Kevin Korchinski, Sawyer Mynio, Jeremy Hanzel, Luke Prokop and Nolan Allan during the Seattle Thunderbirds’ championship run. He picked up a lot on that blue line and he’s enjoyed getting to elevate his play with more responsibility on another championship-contending team.
“When we went for the championship and won it, it was pretty cool to watch some of the older guys and watch how they treat their body and how they get ready for games,” Pickford said. “Being there helped me a lot and being one of the top guys, top D-men for Med Hat is pretty awesome and I’m pretty blessed to be one of the main guys.”
He has found a new appreciation from this year’s playoff run. As the Tigers left for Spokane on Monday they were led on a parade by the Medicine Hat Fire and Police Services, plus hundreds of fans around the city wishing them well. It raised team spirits coming off a 6-2 Game 2 loss at home to the Chiefs.
For Pickford, it reminded him of who, beyond his teammates, himself and the coaches, the Tigers are playing for in the Championship series.
“It gave us a little bit more to think about, it’s not just us, we have all of Medicine Hat behind us,” Pickford said “So to see that, it just gives us a little bit more of a reason to come here and do what we’re doing here. It’s been pretty cool to watch them gather behind us and support us through this.”
Editors note: The story has been updated to reflect the Tigers’ 4-2, championship clinching win Friday in Spokane.
