NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers captain Bryce Pickford unleashes a shot during practice Thursday at Co-op Place. The 19-year-old defenceman has been out of the lineup since Jan. 20.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Bryce Pickford, a two time WHL champion, has played in his fair share of high-pressure games.
But getting ready for practice Thursday, something he’s done countless times, had the Medicine Hat Tigers captain feeling butterflies.
“Getting dressed, I had nerves going through my body for practice, so I’m pretty pumped and excited just to be around the guys, it’s a privilege,” Pickford said.
The Montreal Canadiens prospect has been out since Jan. 20, missing 10 games with an upper-body injury. It was a long month, the 19-year-old says, filled with rehab and helping his father Jim around the family farm.
While working through rehab, he battled the Chauvin, Alta. cold while hauling pails of water and feed for the rabbits, pig, sheep, cow and turkeys they have on the farm. The load was lessened after they butchered the turkeys.
“The days are long with my dad working on the farm, it’s like a vacation back there,” Pickford said.
He tried to relax as much as he could, struggling to sit around and do nothing. The important focus for him, was to not overdo his rehab and get back to 100 per cent.
Pickford, who received a rousing welcome from his teammates on the ice Thursday morning, feels he’s at his best.
“I was just taking my time, really making sure my injury is not going to get any worse, so I’m at 100 per cent now and we’re ready to go,” Pickford said.
“I didn’t want to get injured before playoffs and then be out for the playoffs so I just wanted to try to take my time, which was pretty hard for me, but I just tried to do my best.”
He sure looked his best Thursday morning, breaking prospect goaltender Ben Meyer’s stick with one of his first blasts back on the ice.
“I felt bad, he was a little upset when I broke it, I didn’t mean to,” Pickford said.
Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins was also happy to see his captain back with the team.
“It’s good to see him back, he looks good,” Desjardins said.
He wouldn’t confirm if Pickford would be back in the lineup tonight when they head to Lethbridge to face the Hurricanes for the first of a home-and-home weekend.
Despite missing the last 10 games, Pickford still leads all CHL defenceman with 33 goals. Only his defence partner Jonas Woo has more points than him, with 71 to his 62. With 14 games left on the Tigers slate, he’s on pace to finish the season with 44 goals and 83 points, six goals off the CHL record of 50 by a defenceman in a season.
He still sees that mark as a possibility.
“Fifty is still the goal, I want to get to 60 if I could but I’ll try and start with 50 first, but I’m going to do my best,” Pickford said.
While out of the lineup, he was able to watch the Tigers a few times in person and he’s liked what he’s seen from the group.
“I’m super proud of them, they’re playing really good right now and the group’s really fun to just even watch,” Pickford said. “I’m super proud of how positive they are on the bench, and even when they go down in games they’re not turning on each other and they’re just playing as a team.
“That’s a big thing for us, we just have to work teams, and they’re working really hard.”
