E-Mac's 2011 NHL Entry Draft Top 120: Tyler Biggs #18
By Eldon MacDonald
18. Tyler Biggs - “The Determinator” - RW - USA
Vitals: Size - 6’2”, 205 lb.; Shoots right; Born: 30-Apr-93 - Cincinnati, OH
Team: USA NDP U18, USHL
2010-11 Stats: 48-17-11-28-112 + U18 6-2-1-3-9-(+3)
Tyler Biggs is a guy who has taken a lot of abuse in fan forums and blogs. While some of it may be justified, most of it relates to the fact he was rated as the fifth best North American skater by NHL Central Scouting in their mid-term rankings and Tyler just did not have the skill set to justify such a lofty status. While Tyler may not be a number five guy, he does bring value as a number fifteen guy (Bob MacKenzie’s scout consensus) because he is one of those players who can determine the outcome of a hockey game and determine it early because of his demolition derby style of play backed up by NHL power forward size and strength. All you have to do is look at the Stanley Cup Finals where all the games were won by the team scoring the first goal and generally by the team outmuscling the opposition. Would Vancouver Canucks have won the Stanley Cup if they had a seasoned version of Tyler Biggs in the lineup? Would Vancouver have got by the Chicago Black Hawks if Chicago had a seasoned Tyler Biggs in their lineup? A lot of NHL General Managers would probably answer “no” to both questions which is why Tyler Biggs is rated so highly in this year’s draft.
So what other skills does the top power forward in this year’s draft bring to the table? Well, Tyler brings NHL skating skills, an NHL shot, an NHL one-timer, decent passing and NHL pugnistic prowess. So with all those tools and the wrecking ball style together with the NHL power forward size, why is he not rated higher? The answer lies in the quality of the toolbox. All too frequently, Tyler makes random decisions, passes to nowhere, takes bad penalties, positions himself out of the play and worse, sometimes disappears from the action of the game altogether. However, big guys sometimes take longer to develop e.g. Zack Kassian had a lot of similar criticisms but I am sure Buffalo is pretty happy to have selected him now and Milan Lucic was nowhere near as effective as he is now when Boston selected him.
Zack Kassian won a Memorial Cup last year, Milan Lucic won the Stanley Cup this year so teams are looking for someone like Tyler Biggs to bring them a similar success so that is why I expect Tyler Biggs will go in the teens even if there are doubts that he will achieve a top six forward status in the NHL.
18. Tyler Biggs - “The Determinator” - RW - USA
Vitals: Size - 6’2”, 205 lb.; Shoots right; Born: 30-Apr-93 - Cincinnati, OH
Team: USA NDP U18, USHL
2010-11 Stats: 48-17-11-28-112 + U18 6-2-1-3-9-(+3)
Rankings:
12 - hfboards Readers’ Poll
15 - Bob MacKenzie's June Poll of Scouts
18 - E-Mac's 2011 NHL Entry Draft Top 120
20 - The Hockey News per TSN
22 - Future Considerations Final Rankings
23 - Dean Millard -The Pipeline Show Top 30
25 - Kirk Luedeke's Top 50
25 - McKeen's June Top 30
27 - NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings (22nd North American skater)
31 - ISS per TSN
32 - The Scouting Report's Top 100 Skaters
39 - Christopher Ralph's Top 210
78 - Cory Pronman's Top 100
Draft result:
22 - Toronto Maple Leafs
12 - hfboards Readers’ Poll
15 - Bob MacKenzie's June Poll of Scouts
18 - E-Mac's 2011 NHL Entry Draft Top 120
20 - The Hockey News per TSN
22 - Future Considerations Final Rankings
23 - Dean Millard -The Pipeline Show Top 30
25 - Kirk Luedeke's Top 50
25 - McKeen's June Top 30
27 - NHL Central Scouting's Final Rankings (22nd North American skater)
31 - ISS per TSN
32 - The Scouting Report's Top 100 Skaters
39 - Christopher Ralph's Top 210
78 - Cory Pronman's Top 100
Draft result:
22 - Toronto Maple Leafs
Tyler Biggs is a guy who has taken a lot of abuse in fan forums and blogs. While some of it may be justified, most of it relates to the fact he was rated as the fifth best North American skater by NHL Central Scouting in their mid-term rankings and Tyler just did not have the skill set to justify such a lofty status. While Tyler may not be a number five guy, he does bring value as a number fifteen guy (Bob MacKenzie’s scout consensus) because he is one of those players who can determine the outcome of a hockey game and determine it early because of his demolition derby style of play backed up by NHL power forward size and strength. All you have to do is look at the Stanley Cup Finals where all the games were won by the team scoring the first goal and generally by the team outmuscling the opposition. Would Vancouver Canucks have won the Stanley Cup if they had a seasoned version of Tyler Biggs in the lineup? Would Vancouver have got by the Chicago Black Hawks if Chicago had a seasoned Tyler Biggs in their lineup? A lot of NHL General Managers would probably answer “no” to both questions which is why Tyler Biggs is rated so highly in this year’s draft.
So what other skills does the top power forward in this year’s draft bring to the table? Well, Tyler brings NHL skating skills, an NHL shot, an NHL one-timer, decent passing and NHL pugnistic prowess. So with all those tools and the wrecking ball style together with the NHL power forward size, why is he not rated higher? The answer lies in the quality of the toolbox. All too frequently, Tyler makes random decisions, passes to nowhere, takes bad penalties, positions himself out of the play and worse, sometimes disappears from the action of the game altogether. However, big guys sometimes take longer to develop e.g. Zack Kassian had a lot of similar criticisms but I am sure Buffalo is pretty happy to have selected him now and Milan Lucic was nowhere near as effective as he is now when Boston selected him.
Zack Kassian won a Memorial Cup last year, Milan Lucic won the Stanley Cup this year so teams are looking for someone like Tyler Biggs to bring them a similar success so that is why I expect Tyler Biggs will go in the teens even if there are doubts that he will achieve a top six forward status in the NHL.
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