Zach Bogosian, the Broken Man

Ziggy Stardust

Master Debater
Jul 25, 2002
63,111
34,186
Parts Unknown


Seems like this guy can never escape injuries. Only once in his career he's appeared in 80+ games, and that was in his sophomore season.

Zach Bogosian Stats | Hockey-Reference.com

Eight consecutive years of injury riddled seasons for Bogosian, moving onto nine.

Is it due to injuries that his career never took off, or was he overhyped because of his size? At some point, he was considered to be head-to-head with Doughty as the potential #2 pick in the 2008 draft. Nowadays, he's a forgotten man whose career average in games played in a season is 55.

With all that said, can he be considered a bust? Sure, he is still an NHL defenseman, but considering the fact he was selected 3rd overall, and who went afterwards, I don't think anyone will argue that he's lived up to the hype he had entering the NHL.
 

sabremike

Friend To All Giraffes And Lindy Ruff
Aug 30, 2010
22,813
34,307
Brewster, NY
He is the DiPietro of this era: a player who was real good when he was healthy but had their career ruined by an injury that robbed them of their athletic gifts. I hope he at least ends up like DP when he is forced to retire and has a very successful media career.
 

Mickey Marner

Registered User
Jul 9, 2014
19,406
20,968
Dystopia
bogovskarlsson.jpg


His zenith was at the scouting combine and it's been all downhill ever since.
 

KingsHockey24

Registered User
Aug 1, 2013
14,151
12,500
I somewhat was hoping the Kings would take Bogosian over Doughty.

I liked how physical he was at the time not knowing what an all around beast Doughty was.
 
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Huffer

Registered User
Jul 16, 2010
16,703
6,360
Injuries have been a major factor for sure. Personally (although it would be impossible to know), I wonder how he would have turned out if he got the Pietrangelo
treatment after he was drafted. Bogo was rushed right to the NHL, given too much responsibility, and a coach he didn't work well with.
 

DannyGallivan

Your world frightens and confuses me
Aug 25, 2017
7,576
10,182
Melonville


Seems like this guy can never escape injuries. Only once in his career he's appeared in 80+ games, and that was in his sophomore season.

Zach Bogosian Stats | Hockey-Reference.com

Eight consecutive years of injury riddled seasons for Bogosian, moving onto nine.

Is it due to injuries that his career never took off, or was he overhyped because of his size? At some point, he was considered to be head-to-head with Doughty as the potential #2 pick in the 2008 draft. Nowadays, he's a forgotten man whose career average in games played in a season is 55.

With all that said, can he be considered a bust? Sure, he is still an NHL defenseman, but considering the fact he was selected 3rd overall, and who went afterwards, I don't think anyone will argue that he's lived up to the hype he had entering the NHL.

Major bust. An under-performer when healthy, anyways. Ironic that such a physical dynamo can't stay healthy.
 

Lonewolfe2015

Rom Com Male Lead
Sponsor
Dec 2, 2007
17,268
2,214
His zenith was at the scouting combine and it's been all downhill ever since.

So what we're saying with our massive data set here, is avoid the best in the categories and target the average or worst to find the gems? I mean, Bogosian & Cormier versus Karlsson & Gardiner can't be wrong!

Seriously though, this guy is like Jordan Leopold injured. Breathe on him and something happens. Not quite Salo level. No one is Salo level.
 

McDLT

I'm a style boy for life
Mar 1, 2016
1,253
894
Calgary
What's weird is that he still managed to play his best hockey ever after coming back from a broken leg during his rookie season, but a broken thumb in year 2 appears to be what derailed his career. Protect your thumbs, kids.
 

biturbo19

Registered User
Jul 13, 2010
25,613
10,593
He's a lesson in how far from linear prospect development can be. Being "first" and coming out of the draft with a man body ready for the NHL game and looking promising early isn't the end-all be-all. For some guys like Bogosian, there's just not much of anywhere left to go and they never really get all that much better. Of course, Doughty also jumped right in and looked promising, and he's shown that the opposite can also be true, as he just continued an upward trajectory from there until he became arguably the best defenceman in the league. And you had a guy like Pietranglo who went back for a couple extra years of Junior hockey before he was even "ready" for the NHL, who has also become one of the best. Prospect development can be all over the place, and there are many roads to success, especially for Defencemen.

All the injuries really didn't help Bogosian along the way. Hard to really build on things year over year if you're constantly missing time and rehabbing something or another, just trying to get your body back to where you left off last time. But it really seems like Bogo was just one of those guys who peaks early and can't ever seem to find that next level.

I'd call him a disappointment, especially relative to the early hype levels...but he's really not a "bust". He's an NHL caliber player when healthy, and he's had some pretty good years along the way. Even with all the missed time, he's still well over 500 games playing quite a few minutes in most of them, and he's still got plenty of years to keep building on that total. Not what you'd hope for with a #3 pick, but realistically...far from the worst result. A real "bust" is guys like Teubert, Filatov, Beach et al from that draft. Guys who never even make it anywhere near the level Bogosian entered the league with right away, and never even achieve a level good enough to contribute to your team even when they are healthy.
 

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