The Baie-Comeau Drakkar selected Picard-Hooper in the 6th round of the 2004 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) draft after playing parts of two seasons for College Charles-Lemoyne. Picard-Hooper played 3 seasons in Baie-Comeau, scoring 114 times and adding 141 assists in 207 games. He was named the QMJHL and CHL Scholastic Player of the Year in 2007, his third and final season with the Drakkar. Following that season, Picard-Hooper was then traded to the Saint John Sea Dogs. He scored 23 goals to go along with 45 assists to help lead the young Sea Dogs franchise to the QMJHL semifinals for the first time in club history.