Confirmed with Link: [COL / NYR] Chris Bigras Traded For Ryan Graves

[GirardSpinorama]

Arg this seem like such a roy era move. Bigras should get another chance. That being said i’m happy we at least got someone of comparable age. Rangers might also be giving up on a young prospect too soon so who knows. At least we didnt give away a high 3rd for gelinas.

 

[S E P H]

Lol, I remember two years ago when people were putting him as the #3 defender for the Avs in the future line ups. Never understood why...

Bigras never learned to use his skating to get out of big collisions. He's bigger and stronger than a guy like Girard, but had a tendency to go sitting duck mode once he touched the puck.

Pretty much, considering I have no idea where these "extremely smart" comments are coming from. It isn't that he's hockey dumb, but clearly doesn't have the hockey IQ you need considering how scared he was in the corners. Never was a fan of this pick, always wanted Erne and even though Adam isn't looking too hot, the whole 2nd round in 2013 is looking really bad besides a couple of players.

 

[Foppa2118]

Lol, I remember two years ago when people were putting him as the #3 defender for the Avs in the future line ups. Never understood why...


Pretty much, considering I have no idea where these "extremely smart" comments are coming from. It isn't that he's hockey dumb, but clearly doesn't have the hockey IQ you need considering how scared he was in the corners. Never was a fan of this pick, always wanted Erne and even though Adam isn't looking too hot, the whole 2nd rounder is looking really bad besides a couple of players.

Hockey IQ and being timid (even more so after concussions) are two different things.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Lol, I remember two years ago when people were putting him as the #3 defender for the Avs in the future line ups. Never understood why...


Pretty much, considering I have no idea where these "extremely smart" comments are coming from. It isn't that he's hockey dumb, but clearly doesn't have the hockey IQ you need considering how scared he was in the corners. Never was a fan of this pick, always wanted Erne and even though Adam isn't looking too hot, the whole 2nd round in 2013 is looking really bad besides a couple of players.

Yeah.. I wanted a certain young goalie everyone has pretty much given up on that this point.

The search continues for our next Ryan O'Reilly out of the second round I guess. (Looking at you Conner Timmins)

 

[S E P H]

Hockey IQ and being timid (even more so after concussions) are two different things.

Except what JB was getting at and not IQ-ing himself out of hits as Girard does...

Yeah.. I wanted a certain young goalie everyone has pretty much given up on that this point.

The search continues for our next Ryan O'Reilly out of the second round I guess. (Looking at you Conner Timmins)

Never was a fan of Fucale either, besides Erne I really wanted Madison Bowey, but the correct pick here in hindsight was Brett Pesce who went in the top of the third round. We got our second rounder in that draft though in JT Compher who went three picks after Bigras.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Except what JB was getting at and not IQ-ing himself out of hits as Girard does...

Never was a fan of Fucale either, besides Erne I really wanted Madison Bowey, but the correct pick here in hindsight was Brett Pesce who went in the top of the third round. We got our second rounder in that draft though in JT Compher who went three picks after Bigras.

Fucale had a lot of hype at the time, so good eye. Forgot that JT went right after like that. Compher is struggling right now but hes definitely an NHL player.

 

[Pokecheque]

Arg this seem like such a roy era move. Bigras should get another chance. That being said i’m happy we at least got someone of comparable age. Rangers might also be giving up on a young prospect too soon so who knows. At least we didnt give away a high 3rd for gelinas.

Well, to be fair I don't think Roy was ever really wrong about a prospect when he decided they weren't gonna cut it (i.e., Conner Bleackley). Even the shitshow that was the 2015 deadline didn't cost the Avs a blue-chipper (I take exception to that for other reasons).

I'll be shocked at this point if Bigras ever truly makes an impact at the NHL level. He's a bad combination of a skilled player who lacks both physicality AND durability.

 

[Foppa2118]

Except what JB was getting at and not IQ-ing himself out of hits as Girard does...

Personally I think that's an example of his timid nature, and the concussion making it worse, causing that to be an issue. It's made him second guess himself, and be hesitant, rather than confidently making plays quickly and accurately.

Girard may be soft spoken, but he has some tenacity and battle willingness to his game for a small guy. He has tricks he uses to avoid contact, but he's confident in his ability to do so, and isn't overly concerned with it. Bigras is a little worried about it, and rushes his plays without confidence sometimes.

Girard also makes his passes quickly and confidently. Even after making a mistake or two. Bigras tends to go into a shell a little bit after his mistakes.

 

[Bender]

Came here to post this... timmins could easily be Bigras 2.0.

Also shocked Siemens lasted longer than Bigras.

Won't be shocked if he turns it around in NY.

Nope.

 

[S E P H]

Personally I think that's an example of his timid nature, and the concussion making it worse, causing that to be an issue. It's made him second guess himself, and be hesitant, rather than confidently making plays quickly and accurately.

Girard may be soft spoken, but he has some tenacity and battle willingness to his game for a small guy. He has tricks he uses to avoid contact, but he's confident in his ability to do so, and isn't overly concerned with it. Bigras is a little worried about it, and rushes his plays without confidence sometimes.

Girard also makes his passes quickly and confidently. Even after making a mistake or two. Bigras tends to go into a shell a little bit after his mistakes.

Concussion definitely made him change his style, especially making him scared to get hit, but all of this was for the worst. If he can't understand that, then it shows a lack of IQ. Nonetheless, it will be hard to persuade other Av fans here that Bigras has the same amount of cerebral intelligence with Samuel. Girard simply possesses a higher amount of escapability that Bigras has never shown, thus is a smarter player for me. Even in the last portion of your post, Girard's quick and confident passes come from superior IQ and not because he has this random "balls on the wall" aura we cannot observe, study, or test.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Concussion definitely made him change his style, especially making him scared to get hit, but all of this was for the worst. If he can't understand that, then it shows a lack of IQ. Nonetheless, it will be hard to persuade other Av fans here that Bigras has the same amount of cerebral intelligence with Samuel. Girard simply possesses a higher amount of escapability that Bigras has never shown, thus is a smarter player for me. Even in the last portion of your post, Girard's quick and confident passes come from superior IQ and not because he has this random "balls on the wall" aura we cannot observe, study, or test.

What do you think Elliott's problem was? His issues seem very similar to Bigras. I thought he was going to be the better of the two between him and Barrie.

 

[Foppa2118]

Concussion definitely made him change his style, especially making him scared to get hit, but all of this was for the worst. If he can't understand that, then it shows a lack of IQ. Nonetheless, it will be hard to persuade other Av fans here that Bigras has the same amount of cerebral intelligence with Samuel. Girard simply possesses a higher amount of escapability that Bigras has never shown, thus is a smarter player for me. Even in the last portion of your post, Girard's quick and confident passes come from superior IQ and not because he has this random "balls on the wall" aura we cannot observe, study, or test.

Well I certainly don't disagree that Girard has the superior IQ and escapability. He's among the best in the NHL in that regard. He has to be to have success in the NHL at his stature.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Nope.

Why because he's new?

 

[NOTENOUGHJTCGOALS]

Finally he's off the roster. Hoping Bigras jump starts his career but can't see him being anything more than an AHL plug.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

What do you think Elliott's problem was? His issues seem very similar to Bigras. I thought he was going to be the better of the two between him and Barrie.

Allergic to contact and provided very little offence for a offensive defence... it's kind of a prerequisite.

Basically, a poor mans MAB.

 

[Bender]

Why because he's new?

Yeah, I guess that must be it.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Allergic to contact and provided very little offence for a offensive defence... it's kind of a prerequisite.

Basically, a poor mans MAB.

Did you miss Elliott's opening salvo at an NHL career? Lack of offense isn't the words I'd use.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Yeah, I guess that must be it.

Some insight would've been nice instead of a one word answer.

I mean I'm not expecting him to be a bust. I actually I'm hopeful but I am wary of penciling in prospects in lineups.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Did you miss Elliott's opening salvo at an NHL career? Lack of offense isn't the words I'd use.

He had 24 points in his entire career... so yeah.

 

[CobraAcesS]

He had 24 points in his entire career... so yeah.

Yep.. Context + trash can emoji = Logic

 

[Bender]

Some insight would've been nice instead of a one word answer.

I mean I'm not expecting him to be a bust. I actually I'm hopeful but I am wary of penciling in prospects in lineups.

#6 - CONOR TIMMINS, RD - The Hockey Prospector

I'm not penciling him in any lineup...I just love the kid and I've always thought he was ranked way too low.

I'll be absolutely floored if he's not at minimum a really solid, bottom pairing d-man. Expect much more though.

 

[JoeSakic13]

I'm indifferent about this trade. I feel like Graves has a better chance of getting NHL ice-time with this roster than Bigras though. With Barrie, Girard, and maybe even Makar in the lineup next year we don't really have a spot for Bigras in that mix. Graves at the very least could challenge for bottom pairing to prove he's not a liability.

 

[Iceberg]

Just watch Bigras develop into a top 4 NHL defenseman with the Rangers.

 

[Pokecheque]

Elliott showed plenty of promise to start, especially that wrister from the point that he could get through traffic so easily. Unfortunately the other aspects of his game never progressed.

I never thought Bigras displayed as high-level a skill set as SE, but that's my opinion, I'm certainly not an expert on prospects and junior players.

 

[S E P H]

What do you think Elliott's problem was? His issues seem very similar to Bigras. I thought he was going to be the better of the two between him and Barrie.

As Bigras always had NHL frame and some decent NHL talent, his problems are all mental with some lack of IQ. Elliott didn't possess the amount of sufficient IQ for the NHL either, or he would still be an older version of Gostibehere/Girard in the NHL. Elliott's problem came down to a lack of muscle mass (could also be genetics). This is the downside we see when it comes to the CHL versus NCAA debates. In the CHL, you're normally playing either on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday alongside another game on Saturday or Sunday. During holidays, you can play almost every other night to get that NHL schedule vibe (it's one aspect which the CHL market to recruit players).

Playing that much with the addition of school leaves very few days reserved for off-ice training, compared to the NCAA where you have classes two to three days a week and games on the weekend, leaving Monday to Thursday nights to study or weightlift (though I suggest that the NCAA plays too few games for me). I don't know if Elliott would still be an NHL player considering he couldn't' survive with the amount of IQ he has, but I guarantee that if decided to go down the NCAA route he would have had a better chance to succeed in the pros. Now, this isn't me telling you that the NCAA is better, it isn't. It simply comes down to the individual prospect and what he wants from a program. For example, I doubt Voracek would have been a better player if he decided to go down the NCAA route as Vanek did. Likewise is the same with Jost or Toews, I doubt either of them would be an insanely better player if they went down the CHL route. In Stefan's case, he simply guessed wrong while Greer guessed right.

Well I certainly don't disagree that Girard has the superior IQ and escapability. He's among the best in the NHL in that regard. He has to be to have success in the NHL at his stature.

Agree, and for the record I never called Chris a dumb player because I don't think he is a dumb player. But if we compare him to Girard in the one aspect which is significantly important to stay in the NHL, Samuel simply over matches Bigras.