Why didn't the Avs draft Fucale

TatteredTornNFrayed

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Jan 15, 2008
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It seems that Button ranked Fucale much much higher than all of the teams drafting had him ranked. Guess we'll see in several years.
 

Granlund2Pulkkinen*

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I really don't think he's that much better than Pickard and Aittokallio.
 

Gumballhead

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I think most of us were surprised the Avs took a goalie in the third round. Most of us here noticed that Fucale was available and very few of us knew much about Bigras so the gut reaction might have been "why??" but later on it made sense. I trust the scouts. Bigras was highly rated by the Avs and I can't think of another player in the system like him. (maybe Gus Young?) What I just now noticed is that we didn't take a forward after Nate. Not even a 5'9" center! :amazed:
 

Pierce Hawthorne

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I think most of us were surprised the Avs took a goalie in the third round. Most of us here noticed that Fucale was available and very few of us knew much about Bigras so the gut reaction might have been "why??" but later on it made sense. I trust the scouts. Bigras was highly rated by the Avs and I can't think of another player in the system like him. (maybe Gus Young?) What I just now noticed is that we didn't take a forward after Nate. Not even a 5'9" center! :amazed:

Going into the draft I pretty much had no idea who Bigras was.

I knew he was a likely 1st/2nd round pick, but I had never read much about him on the Avs board or even the prospects section. Going into the draft out of all the possible Dmen(And forwards for that matter) that might have been available at #32, he was my least wanted player of the group.


When we picked him at first I was kind of disappointed. I mean I was glad we didn't go off the board and take someone ranked much later like we did with Heard the previous year, but at the same time with guys like Hagg, Heatherington, and Bowey still not drafted I would have rathered those guys over Bigras(At the time).


However, after doing some reading into Bigras now, I am extremely excited about the pick. The fact he was ranked as the best overall skater in the draft by Central Scouting is extremely exiting. That along with the fact that he's extremely smart and has a high hockey IQ makes it almost a guarantee IMO that he can easily make a solid NHL career for himself just off his skating and his smarts. If he can continue developing his offensive game, and his physicality we could have ourselves a very good potential top pairing Dman.



So yea, I would much, much rather Bigras at 32 then a Goalie. We have a lot of Goalie depth already, and while we do have a lot of Defensive depth in our system as well, we still could use more because our NHL Defense is so weak.
 

The Kingslayer

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Aug 26, 2004
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As a Habs fan I happy for you guys that you landed Patrick Roy as head coach.
I really respected Roy when he was with the Canadians.He will turn the Avs into a winner. But I just think they made a huge mistake passing on Zack Fucale.
I see it as the Avs Loss will become the Habs gain and I'm more than thrilled we dafted Zackery Fucale.

Good for you
 

Foppa2118

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Oct 3, 2003
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Going into the draft I pretty much had no idea who Bigras was.

I knew he was a likely 1st/2nd round pick, but I had never read much about him on the Avs board or even the prospects section. Going into the draft out of all the possible Dmen(And forwards for that matter) that might have been available at #32, he was my least wanted player of the group.


When we picked him at first I was kind of disappointed. I mean I was glad we didn't go off the board and take someone ranked much later like we did with Heard the previous year, but at the same time with guys like Hagg, Heatherington, and Bowey still not drafted I would have rathered those guys over Bigras(At the time).


However, after doing some reading into Bigras now, I am extremely excited about the pick. The fact he was ranked as the best overall skater in the draft by Central Scouting is extremely exiting. That along with the fact that he's extremely smart and has a high hockey IQ makes it almost a guarantee IMO that he can easily make a solid NHL career for himself just off his skating and his smarts. If he can continue developing his offensive game, and his physicality we could have ourselves a very good potential top pairing Dman.



So yea, I would much, much rather Bigras at 32 then a Goalie. We have a lot of Goalie depth already, and while we do have a lot of Defensive depth in our system as well, we still could use more because our NHL Defense is so weak.

That's pretty much how it works with the Avs 1st and 2nd round picks. The only one that most people were aware of, and were happy about that I can think of is Stastny. Outside of the top three picks of course.

Bigras is a good safe 2nd round pick, but also safe in the new NHL sense that he's very mobile, and has a head for the game.

I think the Avs have a good handle on how to pick in the 2nd round. They probably pool together a group of guys they think has the best shot at being NHLers, and then balance that with who has the highest ceiling, with more emphasis on making the NHL and being a solid contributor.

They seem to like these guys with solid all around fundamentals, but also with great attitudes, and smarts to possibly contribute offensively. No boom or bust types, unless they're undersized offensive guys that Pracey finally admitted this year he has a weakness for.
 

RTN

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Aug 28, 2008
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Goalies on good junior teams can also look much better than they later turn out to be. McCollum, and even Delmas come to mind.
 

seancolorado

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Oct 8, 2011
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We needed defensive prospects. Bigras, a first rounder in some mocks, was too good to pass up
 

Averick*

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It's funny how so many sports discussions come down to the old axiom, "a bird in the hand...".

This is another case of that. Bigras was less long term than Fucale was. You have a new regime, part of which is a goalie who may not have felt the gap between Fucale and Martin wasn't that big.

Sorry, but I was kind of hoping for Fucale but I also don't really see why this draft pick need so be overly scrutinized. I like Bigras too.
 

cgf

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I really don't think he's that much better than Pickard and Aittokallio.

Seriously. Aitto has as much raw potential as any one in the world. With Pickard, Aitto, Patterson and Varly in the NHL we didn't need any more goalies, although sticking Martin in the pipeline wasn't a bad call with a third round pick.

Drafting a goalie over Bigras however would've been a mistake, there's something very Vlasic-y about his game, just to continue comparing our prospects top end upside to Shark defensemen, I.e. Barrie-Boyle.
 
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cgf

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I wonder if Bigras makes the NHL this season...

I doubt it. This year we'll likely start of with what we had last year to see how guys react to Roy, then over the course of the year Siemens and Elliott will get some looks and next year they and Bigras will get a chance in camp.
 

Foppa2118

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Oct 3, 2003
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I really don't think he's that much better than Pickard and Aittokallio.

And it may stay that way. So many changes, and ups and downs, and learning processes, and mental hurdles, and just so many things happen between a goalies draft year, and a year or two outside of junior. I don't know how anyone feels comfortable rating any goalies chances with confidence.

So many highly touted goalie prospects have turned into nothing, and so many never heard of types have turned into great number 1's. Not to mention all the late bloomers like Thomas and Anderson, or the early success types that just never get back to that level like Theo and Raycroft

So much changes early on especially though. I remember Pickard was thought somehwat highly of in his draft year, and then was thought to be crap like a year or so later after playing on a poor team and getting shelled. Then he started playing well for the Monsters, and seems to be valued higher than Aitto. Who knows what will happen in the next couple years, and what their ultimate NHL level of play will be. Goalies are such a crap shoot.
 

cgf

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What I love most about Aitto was the resiliency and confidence he showed during his call up. No way to now how hard he works outside of games, but with his raw talent and that mentality I'm pretty confident the kid will be a really good NhL starter for somebody as long as he's putting the work in.
 

Hans Landaskog

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Feb 27, 2012
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What I love most about Aitto was the resiliency and confidence he showed during his call up. No way to now how hard he works outside of games, but with his raw talent and that mentality I'm pretty confident the kid will be a really good NhL starter for somebody as long as he's putting the work in.

Don't forget staying hydrated. :laugh:
 

CB Joe

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Oct 12, 2008
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Fucale is a 5 year or more project. He has the potential to be good, but when you factor in his junior career, plus time in the minors, and then breaking in as a backup, it will be a long time before he can make a significant impact.

The Avs already have deep goaltending depth. Varlamov will be around for sometime. Giguere can stick around for a few more years as back-up. Then the Avs have Pickard, Aittokallio, Millan, and Patterson in the system. The Avs have the luxury of passing on Fucale to pick up someone who could make an impact much sooner, and in a position that could use the help.
 

CalderKing21

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I knew of Bigras but I didn't think he would be an option when we picked. I was just happy we picked a D man so i was good with it, though Fucale and Erne were two guys i liked at that spot too.
 

Pierce Hawthorne

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I wonder if Bigras makes the NHL this season...

I wouldn't be all that shocked. Roy left it open as a possibility.



He certainly has the speed and smarts to play in the big league already. The question is probably whether he is Physically strong enough to play against men, or if he is mentally ready for the NHL. But he has the speed and the hockey smarts to play next year, and Roy seems to think its a possibility.
 

a mangy Meowth

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Jun 21, 2012
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Count me as someone who is SUPER high on Bigras as a player. I've been watching some of his film and he really impresses me. Not in a flashy way, just his silky smooth playstyle and decisiveness on defense are pretty outstanding and have me really hoping that he'll come play for us for a long time.

I do NOT however, think he should be playing in the NHL yet. He needs another year in junior (as his team's #1 Dman, #1 PK, #1 PP), and then a year atleast in the AHL to get used to the speed and strength needed. So I'm thinking the earliest we'll be seeing him is the 2014-15 season, as a call-up from Lake Erie.

He needs to put on some muscle, and play down there to get used to the extra weight he's putting on and his new NHL sized frame. He plays a cerebral game.

I'm excited though.
 

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