The 2011 draft is only two days
away, and the Rangers scouting and front office staff is looking through many
prospects to see who they want to select with the 15th overall selection.
With the current state of the Rangers defense both at the NHL and prospect
level one would expect that New York will look for offense in the first round
of the draft hoping to find an impact scorer. There are a number of
offensive prospects that could be available at 15. We have already looked
at Mark
Scheifele, Mark
McNeill, Zack
Phillips, Joel
Armia, Sven
Bartschi, Ty
Rattie, Matt
Peumpel, Vladislav
Namestnikov and Rocco
Grimaldi for their potential fits for the Rangers.
One name that has been connected
to the New York Rangers quite a bit recently is Tyler Biggs of the US National
Development Team. Being 6’2” and 210
pounds there is a natural reason to connect him to the Rangers as they need
size in the organization and a power forward for the future. He has shown a willingness to play in the
dirty areas and uses his size in front.
Beyond his sheer size, Biggs is
most known for his leadership abilities and willingness to stand up for his
teammates. Those are both excellent
qualities to have in a young player, but they don’t necessarily make a player
worthy of the #15 pick in the draft. There
are concerns about his hands and ability to score which have some questioning
what the upside is for him offensively.
Jess Rubenstein of The
Prospect Park thinks that Biggs is the perfect complement to a line with
Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan down the line.
I have great respect for Jess and the work he does in understanding so
many prospects in the organization and the draft process, but I think it is a
little early to start drafting for the possibility of pairing Biggs with
Kreider and Stepan. If he is the best
player on the board, then take him and hope for the combination to develop down
the road, but you cannot start taking for need and hoping the player develops
into what you think he can become.
Scouts Take:
Biggs certainly merits consideration as a prospect due to his size, physical play, skating ability and determination. It’s difficult though to see him as a first rounder since he does not possess the offensive skills that would be worthy of such a high pick. Biggs may only top out as a 15-20 goal guy who can provide some grit and nastiness which fits nicely on some clubs but the ceiling doesn’t seem high enough to justify anything other than the second round.
25. Tyler Biggs, RW U.S. NTDP (USHL) 6-2, 210 04/30/1993
Victimized by unrealistic expectations, Biggs could end up proving a lot of the critics wrong. We don't buy into the belief that he killed his stock at the World Under-18 tourney- we just don't feel that it was as high with the NHL teams out there as Central scouting led everyone to believe when they ranked him fifth overall among North American skaters on their midterm list. He lives up to his last name- a powerful skater and battering ram who plays the game like a legitimate power forward. When Biggs is on top of his game, he bulls his way to the net, spins and cycles effortlessly while protecting the puck from defenders powerless to separate him from it, and unleashes a rocket shot that is heavy and hurts. Unfortunately, scouts are unsure of his hockey sense and ability to create for himself. That's one of those aspects of hockey that is extremely tough to project and Biggs could very well end up being a legitimate top-six forward someday- he can skate, hit and fight. But there are enough concerns about his upside that keep him from being a top-20 guy in our view. However, he is extremely close- the margin between his not making the cut is razor-thin as any one of the players ahead of him at 21-24 could all make the case to be inside the top-20. He's a good player, but how good is the big question on draft day.
The Rangers do need size in
their lineup and a big bodied power forward is something the organization has
been looking to find for a long time now, which makes Biggs an intriguing
possibility, but just not the right choice at #15. When picking #15 there should be more upside
to a player than there is with Biggs. It
is certainly possible that like with most bigger players it will take him
longer to put the total package together and going to the University of Miami
is an excellent move for him, but there should be players on the board with
more to get than him in that spot. If
the Rangers can move down a little in the first and gain something for it, then
taking Biggs would not seem like the stretch it feels like in this spot.
Biggs was the instant selection when I asked The Prospect
Park’s Jess Rubenstein about his thoughts on the draft a couple of days ago,
citing Biggs’ ability to come up big in key games as one particular reason for
his choice. It’s hard to argue either; Biggs has competed in two Under-18 World
Championships, winning gold in 2010 and ’11, scoring a crucial overtime winner,
his second of the night, against Canada in the semi-finals this year.
I love the leadership aspect of Biggs’ game, but I’d
personally like to see the Rangers go with a higher offensive ceiling when
picking amongst the likes of Armia, Baertschi, McNeill and Scheifele. The
Rangers have grinders, guys that lay it all on the line for the cause, and
though you can never have enough of a good thing it’s hard to pass on more talented
guys should they be available.
