Winter 2011: #19
Not Previously Ranked
Kyle Bigos has made good progress since being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in 2009. The 22-year old from Upland, Californa has played in Canadian hotspots like Wilcox, SK and Vernon, BC in an effort to make his way as a hockey player. No one should question his level of dedication to the game, at least no one who has spent a winter's day in Wilcox, Saskatchewan.
Kyle Bigos has had a stealth development since 2009 summer. Not a lot of things leaked out of Merrimack aside from "hits hard" and "he's a big guy" but that changed last summer. The Oilers organization started to talk about Bigos as a guy who was developing as a prospect and a player of interest in their estimation.
Stu MacGregor: "His game has done nothing but get better. A young man whose development curve is just beginning to move forward. Great shot, skates well for a big guy, he's someone we see huge potential in down the road."
Mike Sillinger: "His big thing is mobility. He's got to work on his mobility and his puck skills a bit. Watched him play a few times the last couple of years. He's a big guy, hits hard. We need to get him to put fear in the opposition."
Kyle Bigos: "I love to move the puck and play 5-on-5 with the team we have, but I'm also getting a chance on the powerplay. I'm mainly used as a shooter. I also get to play PK which is a blast! I think to go out and block shots and to try and stop the talent-filled teams in HE is a great challenge and a lot of fun."
Kyle Bigos projects as a big man who can play at even strength on the penalty-kill, but is unlikely to see time in pro hockey on the powerplay. He can fight, punish opponents and can turn pro in the fall. He knows what he needs to do.
Bigos: “When I was at Oilers camp they gave you rundown of everything from strength and conditioning to mental health, nutrition, skating, and playing the game. It was a real eye opener. They gave you all tools and it’s up to you to use them.”
In ranking Bigos ahead of the men in the conversation, some talented (but flawed) players were passed over.
- Toni Rajala is having a nice season in Europe.
- Chris VandeVelde is boxed in on this roster but could find a home elsewhere.
- Alex Plante is having his finest AHL season.
- Ryan Martindale still has the tools he possessed a year ago.
- Tanner House is showing well in OKC.
- Hunter Tremblay is doing the same.
- Taylor Fedun showed very well in training camp before injury.
- Samu Perhonen has a nice resume if not the results.
I have to say, for a few months now I've been thinking that Bigos is one guy who might well surprise just about everybody when he turns pro (be it next season or later). Not because I know something others don't, but it's just a hunch. In other words, I love what I hear about the guy, and it sounds like he's really gaining traction. Big time. C&B are also keeping one eye trained on him, and I think others would be wise to do the same. He might just be something good.
ReplyDeleteEasyoil: Yeah, we're in the area of the top 20 where it's longshots, but he certainly has size and MBS says he can move.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this article that Derek had posted on C&B a while back. Perhaps if his shot really does break the sound barrier there'll be room for him on the PP? ;)
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame about Taylor Fedun. I think he'd have seen some time on the Oil this season if it hadn't been for that horrid injury. I hope he's recovering at Hall like superspeed.
Wedgewood over Bunz for the back-up job on Team Canada.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunate.
Wouldn't be surprised if Prendergast and Co. made the wrong call here. Then again, Prendergast making the "wrong call" is never surprising - why this guy was hired by Hockey Canada still confuses me.
Regardless how it went down, disappointing for Bunz, although his quote about how they "made the right call" shows maturity on his part. Often, true character is shown in moments of disappointment as opposed to times of success...
Bigos: “When I was at Oilers camp they gave you rundown of everything from strength and conditioning to mental health, nutrition, skating, and playing the game. It was a real eye opener. They gave you all tools and it’s up to you to use them.”
ReplyDeleteI can't get enough of comments like that.
Well done v3.2.
The final World Junior roster has 10 kids from Ont. and 1 from Alberta! WTF??
ReplyDeleteThe final roster also has Mark Visentin. One half of last year's terrible tandem. I hope this Wedgewood fellow gets most of the starts...
ReplyDeleteA comparison between Visentin and Wedgewood and their backups in the OHL.
ReplyDeleteVisentin 0.899 (Festarini 0.931)
Wedgewood 0.904 (Mahalak 0.934)
And now here's Bunz and his backup.
Bunz 0.922 (Cameron 0.886)
And while Don Hay is a terrific coach. I'll point out that Ryan Smyth was the last forward to make Team Canada in 1995 and Brendan Morrison was cut while Larry Courville cruised onto the team.
Sorry, I forgot to add this above. Jocelyn Thibault was cut from the 1995 team for Jamie Storr and Dan Cloutier but played in the NHL that year when the lockout ended and was 2nd in the NHL in save percentage.
ReplyDeleteawesome comments Ben
ReplyDeleteThe final World Junior roster has 10 kids from Ont. and 1 from Alberta! WTF??
ReplyDeleteOh so they are supposed to pick the team based on regional representation now? That kind of whining is usually reserved for French Quebec.
Don Hay would be quite familiar with anyone playing in the WHL.
Pick the best players.
So who is #20? Ewanyk?
@ Ducey... I just find it odd that the number could be so lopsided. I guess you don't.
ReplyDeleteThat 10:1 ratio does seem pretty odd.
ReplyDeleteI'm quite surprised Bunz didn't make the cut.
berseg: for the fans of Frank Herbert's Dune (KJA & BH can go fornicate themselves)
This is Kevin Pendergast you're talking about.
ReplyDeleteHe does not have a track record of effectively selecting the "good players".
Why, after years of failing to effectively identify the "good players" from the "respectable but not that great players" or the "flashy players who don't bring enough" or the "utility players who help you win" would he suddenly become better at it?
If Canada wins, he obviously put together a that could win, and I'll admit I was wrong. But somehow... I have my doubts.
According to the nephew (also on Merrimack), Bigos occasionally gets to play F on the PP too, utilized in the Ryan Smyth position.
ReplyDeleteJordan: It's nearly impossible for Canada to not have the most talented roster. They could win even if they selected Cameron Abney. Winning the tournament won't make all their decisions correct. Just like Khabibulin's play this year doesn't justify his contract.
ReplyDeleteRenney
ReplyDelete-Hall and Khabi are ready to go
-Potter passed the on ice test and feels he's ready for tomorrow..we'll see
Ben: While I would love to beleive that if Canada selected a marginal roster and won anyways that there would be a change in the selection and management of Team Canada... I don't. These teams are not in the business of making money. They are not in the business of developing players. National hockey programs are in the business of winning.
ReplyDeleteWhile the various other leagues do both of the former, Team Canada gets arguably the best players from the arguably largest pool of players in the world. The ONLY objective of this team is to win.
Last year the team failed to do that. Who was in charge of procurement? Pendergast. I'm not sure if he was incharge in 2010, so I won't lay that at his feet, but...
When you've got access to the resources that Canada does in junior hockey, if you build a winner, you've failed. Period. Last year they failed, and there was no change. I hope they learned from last year, but so far, with the cuts they've made, I really doubt it. And that just makes me all the more doubtful and critical of the man in charge of procuring the best team in the world of this age group.
If they win, all is forgiven. If they don't... bring in someone else who can build a winner. They're not here for anything else.
What do people think the current Renney edition of this Oilers team think, given the underdocumented struggles of MPS, plus the other rookies and other under 24 year old players who in the opinion of Lowetide's faithful, might be feeling like they're getting a raw deal, Omark being another.
ReplyDeleteIs the Oilers a two tier team, with the top producing geniuses(The Kid Line) getting 100% of the coaching staff's attention etc.
Opinions welcome.
I can't read Jocelyn Thibault's name without thinking of and hearing Rejean Houle pronounce it with just the stupidest look on his face.
ReplyDeleteHoule always had that "someone just kicked me in the nuts and I have no life in me" look on his face. Helluva player, though.
ReplyDeleteHunter: Based on what Bigos was saying about the coaching he was getting in the summer, I highly doubt that anyone is getting more or less coaching than anyone else. I think the big difference between this year and last is that the Oilers are expected to perform, and when they don't there are consequences.
ReplyDeleteThat is a huge difference from last year.
MP is feeling those effects a great deal more than others because he hasn't found chemistry with the other young guys, or the featured vets, which has really limited the options of the coach.
Would you break up either of the top two lines for a young kid who can't find his offense right now?
I think the message is pretty clear, and it's exactly what Bigos had said: They gave you all tools and it’s up to you to use them.” They want Magnus to step up. And they are waiting on him.
Both Hall and Nugent-Hopkins were given mentors.
ReplyDeleteHorcoff was attached to Hall. And Smyth to Nugent-Hopkins. And both were put in situations where they could succeed.
i.e. Nugent-Hopkins super-protected at home in terms of match ups and zone starts.
Paajarvi was given Cogliano and Brule last year. And Belanger or the press box this year.
Differential treatment. Some guys have been coddled, and some guys have been throw into the deep end or sent to the showers.
Couturier isn't being given featured offensive minutes in Philly, so they are using him in the bottom six and PK. They have given him a role.
The Oilers haven't given Paajarvi a role in terms of the ice time they actually have available, and that he could accomplish with his skills.
He should be penalty-killing.
Renney clearly is not seeing what he has in Paajarvi, because he has no clue what to do with him. He has a fixed vision of how a team is supposed to look and seems unwilling to adjust the vision to best utilize the actual talent he has available.
Paajarvi IS an unusual prospect. He is a non-standard model. The coach is befuddled.
This is Oli Jokinen all-over-again, who befuddled three organizations and many coaches before he got to Mike Keenan.
I look at Paajarvi. I see Dennis Rodman.