Just two weeks after joining the Grande Prairie Storm, defenceman Reily Pickford played in front of family members Friday night in Lloydminster as the Storm defeated the Bobcats 5-1 in AJHL action at the Hub.
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It was a homecoming of sorts for the 18-year-old Pickford, who is from Chauvin, Alta., and played U18 AAA in Lloyd with a Lancers team that included multiple current Bobcats.
Among the special visitors greeting Pickford in Lloyd was big brother Bryce, the Montreal Canadiens’ defence prospect and captain of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. Bryce, 19, was sidelined with an injury that kept him out of Dub action last weekend, so he took the opportunity to watch Reily play while the Storm visited the Bobcats and the Bonnyville Pontiacs.
Reily assisted on the winning goal on the power play as Grande Prairie edged Bonnyville 3-2 on Saturday night. It was the Storm’s eighth straight victory. They haven’t lost since a 5-4 setback against the Bobcats on Jan. 3 in Lloyd.
In the final AJHL trade announced at the Jan. 10 deadline, Grande Prairie acquired Reily Pickford
in the deal that sent 19-year-old forward Brandon de Haas to the Camrose Kodiaks.
Pickford didn’t see it coming.
“No, I was kind of shocked,” he said. “I just got the call from the GM before the deadline and heard I was going to GP. Got my stuff packed and went. It was a little bit of a surprise, but it turned out good.”
The Storm had just lost defenceman Noah Chadi, then 17, to the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels, so they went after another promising young blue-liner in Pickford.
The Chauvin farm boy has two points after five games with Grande Prairie, which this weekend hosts his former team — Camrose — on Friday and Saturday.
Overall this season, Pickford has two goals and 10 points in 27 games with Grande Prairie and Camrose. He had joined the Kodiaks this past fall after splitting the 2024-25 season between the AJHL’s Drumheller Dragons and Drayton Valley Thunder, along with the Northeastern Alberta junior B league champion Wainwright Bisons.
“Oh, it was good,” Pickford said about his half-season with Camrose. “I liked the group of guys — good coaches, nice arena. It’s a nice small town. Close to everything. So, not too far of a drive (from Chauvin), about two and a half hours.”
Now, he’s adjusting to being much farther from home.
“I’m getting used to it, now that I’m in GP,” he said with a smile. “It’s like eight or nine hours, now. It’s kind of a hike.”
All of which made last weekend that much more special, with a few familiar faces from home in the big crowd of 1,603 at Lloyd’s new rink.
“He’s here today and he’s pretty excited,” Reily said about Bryce’s rare chance to see his little brother play live.
After leading Medicine Hat to the WHL championship last spring, Bryce became a third-round draft choice of the Habs in last June’s NHL draft.
This year, Bryce has continued a record-setting pace in the Dub, with 33 goals and 62 points in 42 games — as a defenceman. He ranked fifth overall in WHL scoring.
“Yeah, it’s pretty crazy what he’s doing,” Reily said. “It’s pretty cool. I’m happy for him.”
Whether meeting after a game, chatting during the Christmas holidays, or working out together in their gym back home on the farm, Bryce and Reily help each other along the way in their respective hockey journeys.
“It’s been awesome,” Reily said about his relationship with Bryce, just a year and a half older. “He’s been great. It’s been awesome having him (show me the way). Not to get too high or too low. Just to stay nice and cool.”
With temperatures pushing -40 C, it was a cool night Friday as the Storm bundled up two more points in Lloyd.
“We did really good today,” said Reily, sporting a tuque after the game. “I thought the boys were buzzing from the first (period) all the way to the third. We played our game.”
Pickford picked up holding and roughing minor penalties in a game that was expected to be more contested than it proved to be, considering it pitted two of the top teams in the North Division against each other.
“It (still) got pretty heated out there,” he said. “Yeah, I think that’s a big part of hockey.”
Pickford, six-foot-one and 185 pounds, hopes he can bring various elements to Grande Prairie’s defence.
“I think I play good D, good skater. When I can, I’ll jump up and play my game offensively.”
Although many players were moved across the league during a brisk AJHL trade period, it doesn’t make it any easier for those involved.
“Oh yeah, it was a little tough getting used to — learning a whole bunch of new guys, billets, coaches,” Pickford agreed. “But everything is working out well now. I like the group of guys I’m with now. It’s a good team. We have a chance to win ’er, I think.”
Grande Prairie was the AJHL runner-up last season. The Calgary Canucks won their second straight league title.
Lloydminster is considered another strong contender this season, especially after making major moves at the trade deadline.
Pickford is most familiar with a group of current junior A Bobcats. During his U18 AAA years in Lloyd, he played with defencemen Brady Gamble, Jaxan Hopko and Oakley McIlwain and forward Landen Ward.
“I think they’re a really good team,” Pickford said about the new-look Bobcats. “They’re fast, big boys.”
In the early 1990s, Pickford’s father Jim played defence with the former Lloydminster Blazers in the AJHL. Jim’s four sons are also blue-liners. The oldest — Austin, 28 — is an AJHL graduate now playing pro with the Danbury Hat Tricks of Connecticut in the Federal Prospects Hockey League. The youngest — Kane, 16 — is skating close to home with the junior B Bisons.
Much like another nearby hockey family — the Sutters of Viking, Alta. — did en route to the NHL, the Pickfords have mixed training and farming.
“We have our own gym at our farm, so we work out there,” Reily said. “We go to Viking a lot for ice time.”
GRANDE PRAIRIE 5 LLOYDMINSTER 1: Will Harris, with two points, Treysen Miller, Colin Doherty, Zachary Wilson and Chase Christensen each scored for the Storm. The Bobcats’ goal came from Alex Levasseur five minutes into the third period, with GP leading 4-0 at the time.
The Storm outshot the Bobcats 31-20, including a 10-4 margin in the opening period. Tending goal were Leland Gill of GP and Jaiden Sharma of Lloyd.
GRANDE PRAIRIE 3 BONNYVILLE 2: The Storm took a 3-0 lead before Riley Pederson got the Pontiacs on the scoreboard late in the first period. Lucas Knorr, with his second in a Bonnyville jersey and 17th goal of the year, closed the scoring six minutes into the middle period.
Grande Prairie received power-play goals from Harris and Will Kronewitt and the opener — an even-strength marker — from Braeden Veldhuizen.Ben Laurette stopped 34 shots in the Pontiacs’ net, while Gill made 27 saves for the Storm.
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