Owen Pickering

Owen Pickering (born January 27, 2004) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Pickering was drafted in the first round, 21st overall, by the Penguins in the 2022 NHL entry draft.

Playing career The Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League selected Pickering in the ninth round, 177th overall, in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.

On July 16, 2022, Pickering was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Pittsburgh Penguins. On October 14, 2022, he was named captain of the Broncos. Pickering was named to the WHL Central Division All-Star First Team for the 2022–23 WHL season. On March 30, 2023, Pittsburgh reassigned Pickering to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He made his AHL debut on March 31, 2023, in a 4–2 loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

On October 10, 2023, Pickering was returned to the Broncos for the 2023–24 WHL season. Pickering was again named to the WHL Central Division All-Star First Team in 2023–24.

On November 16, 2024, with Ryan Graves out as a healthy scratch, Pickering was called up to make his NHL debut during the 2024–25 season against the San Jose Sharks. Playing on the third defensive pairing, Pickering recorded an assist on Jesse Puljujärvi's goal for his first NHL point. Pickering scored his first career NHL goal on December 3, in a 5–4 overtime victory against the Florida Panthers. He played a total of 25 games with Pittsburgh before being assigned back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on January 15, 2025. The Penguins were eliminated 2–0 from the first round of the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs by the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in a best-of-three series. Pickering played both games in the series, but did not tally any points.

Personal life Alongside hockey, Pickering played baseball, volleyball, and basketball, growing up. He started playing the violin when he was six. His younger sister, Avery, has represented Canada at the IIHF World Women's U18 Championship.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2020–21 Swift Current Broncos WHL 23 2 7 9 8 — — — — — 2021–22 Swift Current Broncos WHL 62 9 24 33 39 — — — — — 2022–23 Swift Current Broncos WHL 61 9 36 45 30 — — — — — 2022–23 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 8 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2023–24 Swift Current Broncos WHL 59 7 39 46 35 9 1 6 7 0 2024–25 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 47 2 11 13 10 2 0 0 0 2 2024–25 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 25 1 2 3 6 — — — — — 2025–26 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 68 7 21 28 28 11 1 3 4 0 2025–26 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 4 0 0 0 2 — — — — —NHL totals 29 1 2 3 8 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2022 Canada U18 5th 4 0 2 2 0Junior totals 4 0 2 2 0

Awards and honours