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Canadiens sign Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Bryce Pickford to a three-year entry-level contract

Dec 24, 2025 | 8:17 AM

The Montreal Canadiens have signed Medicine Hat Tigers’ defenceman Bryce Pickford to a three-year entry-level contract, the NHL team announced Wednesday.

The contract begins in the 2026-27 season for the Tigers’ captain.

Pickford has a league-leading 25 goals along with 19 assists in 31 games for the Tigers this WHL season.

He sits fourth overall in league points with 44, three points away from matching his career-high 47 from last season.

The 19-year-old from Chauvin, Alta., won WHL titles with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2022-23 and the Tigers last season.

He was selected by the Canadiens in the third round (81st overall) of the 2025 NHL draft.

Pickford was named the WHL Player of the Week earlier in December.

He is on a six-game goal streak that started on Dec. 3 against the Prince Albert Raiders, and an eight-game point streak that began on Nov. 28 in a game against the Saskatoon Blades.

Over those eight games, Pickford has 13 goals and six assists for 19 points.

READ: Medicine Hat Tigers captain Bryce Pickford named WHL Player of the Week (Dec. 9/2025)

– With file from The Canadian Press