Pickering motivated to make sure he's not overlooked for 2022 NHL Draft

The 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held July 7-8 at Bell Centre in Montreal. The first round will be July 7 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 are July 8 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at defenseman Owen Pickering of Swift Current in the Western Hockey League. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Owen Pickering
has used an oversight in the 2019 Western Hockey League bantam draft as motivation to prove he deserves better.
"There were 176 other players selected before me so I think you definitely can use that as motivation," Pickering said. "But I feel like I'm deserving of the attention I'm getting now, and I'm just kind of trying to move ahead and finds ways to improve even more."
The defenseman was chosen by Swift Current with the first pick in the ninth round of the 2019 WHL draft. But a growth spurt in the three years that followed, as well as a growth in his on-ice skill, has Pickering projected as a first-round pick in the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft.
Swift Current general manager Chad Leslie, was the team's director of scouting at the time of the 2019 WHL draft, remembers what led Swift Current to select Pickering.
"I'm from Elkhorn, Manitoba, the same hometown as (Philadelphia Flyers defenseman) Travis Sanheim," Leslie said. "And to me, Owen looked very similar to Travis as a bantam. Undersized, really intelligent, and good individual skill but they were lacking physical strength, so that was really dictating in their game at the draft. Owen was around 5-foot-9 at the time but just reminded me so much of Travis."
Pickering was 5-foot-7, 131 pounds when Swift Current drafted him as a 15-year-old.
Sanheim, who was chosen by Calgary in the ninth round (No. 177) of the 2011 WHL bantam draft, was 5-10, 140 at the time. When the Flyers chose Sanheim at No. 17 in the 2014 NHL Draft, he was 6-3, 181.

Pickering (6-4, 180) led Swift Current defensemen with 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists), including 17 power-play points (four goals, 13 assists), in 62 games. He also had two assists and a plus-2 rating in four games for Canada at the 2022 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.
He's No. 15 in
NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters
.
"He brings enough with what he is right now to contribute at the NHL level down the road," Central Scouting's John Williams said. "Obviously he's going to have to get stronger, but he's come a long way in a fairly short period of time. His skating is very good, he's poised with the puck under pressure.
"Swift Current is a very young team, and they had some tough nights and Owen handled that quite well and became the No. 1 defenseman on the team. He played big minutes and managed those minutes well."
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Pickering was named WHL Central Division rookie of the year and was a second-division all star.
"I think he's relied upon heavily and there were some nights we've had where he's played 31 minutes a game and as a 17-year-old defenseman [he turned 18 on Jan. 27], it's tough for sure," Leslie said. "But he handled it very well. I was worried about our young group getting tired around game 50, but to their credit they battled through. I just think Owen was able to do that being a fairly skinny kid who isn't physically developed yet, so I'm excited about what the next couple of years are going to look like for him."
Born in St. Adolphe, Manitoba, about 20 miles south of Winnipeg, Pickering has a good idea what it takes to defend as a player with his size and strength.
"Getting a stick on the puck is a huge thing for me," he said. "Then the reach ... kind of with my arms, trying to pin guys is a big thing, using my leverage. I think once I get stronger, that'll be a big asset that I can use."
Pickering models his game after Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who he believes typifies the prototypical modern-day defenseman.

"He's tall (6-1, 190), a really good skater, and good offensively," Pickering said. "He's able to close plays quickly using his feet and his stick on the defensive end."
Pickering also was a big part of Swift Current's penalty kill, something he takes great pride in.
"I enjoy the challenge; I don't know why," he said. "You may think I'm crazy, but I enjoy blocking shots ... when it doesn't hurt too bad. It's a great feeling knowing you can get a kill and get the boys fired up on the bench."
Pickering also enjoys assisting his father, Tom, whenever he can during the "Sunday Skate" program created to help teach young players about the game in his hometown.
"I really respect my dad for kind of not having the dinosaur kind of attitude towards hockey," Pickering said. "He kind of sees how the game is growing and he applies that in the Sunday Skate with these 10-to 12-year-old kids. I just enjoy kind of being a part of it, going out there, demonstrating. Even when we're doing edge work, it doesn't hurt to head out there and work on some things. I've tried to volunteer whenever I can."
Photo: Ed Fonger, Swift Current (WHL)
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