Donald R. Biggs (born April 7, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player.
Don Biggs | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | April 7, 1965||
Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | ||
Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
Position | Centre | ||
Shot | Right | ||
Played for |
Minnesota North Stars Philadelphia Flyers | ||
NHL draft |
156th overall, 1983 Minnesota North Stars | ||
Playing career |
1985–1999 2001–2002 |
His son, Tyler Biggs, was a first round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs.[1]
Early life
editBiggs was raised in Mississauga, Ontario on Carrera Lane and attended Clarkson Secondary School.[2]
Playing career
editAs a youth, Biggs played in the 1978 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Mississauga.[3]
Don Biggs was drafted from the OHL's Oshawa Generals by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. Biggs honed his pro game with their American Hockey League (AHL) team and was called up for one game with the North Stars. In 1985 Biggs' rights were traded to the Edmonton Oilers, but due to their talent-laden centre position with Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, Biggs at 20 years old, remained with their AHL affiliate in Nova Scotia. In 1987 Biggs signed with the Philadelphia Flyers and eventually played 12 games notching 2 goals.[2]
While Biggs never managed to become a regular member of an NHL club, he was a valuable member and usually the captain of many minor league hockey teams in the OHL, AHL, IHL, ECHL, and a European professional hockey club.[2] During his seasons with the Binghamton Rangers in 1992-93 Biggs set the AHL single-season scoring mark with 54 goals and 84 assists for 138 points. Biggs experienced his greatest success as Captain of the Cincinnati Cyclones from 1993–1999 and for a stint in 2002. During his time with the team he became a fan favorite and a local celebrity.[2]
Biggs was also the on ice double for Patrick Swayze's skating scenes in the 1986 movie Youngblood.[4]
Life after hockey
editDon Biggs lives in Loveland, Ohio not far from Cincinnati. Biggs' number 22 jersey was retired in his honor and hung from the rafters of the local arena.[2] He works for a local electrical supply company and is involved in local hockey programs, where he runs elite, private and team skill clinics as well as youth hockey clinics. He was the head coach and general manager of the Queen City Steam in the Tier III junior hockey league, NA3HL from 2007 to 2013 when the team was sold and rebranded.[2][5] He coached and mentored his son from squirt level in the local CAHA league to becoming the Captain of Team USA. (U17 & U18)[2]
His son Tyler Biggs was taken 22nd overall in the 2011 NHL draft. Biggs last played professional hockey in spring 2019 for the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL.[1]
Career statistics
editRegular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1982–83 | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 70 | 22 | 53 | 75 | 145 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 17 | ||
1982–83 | Oshawa Generals | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 27 | ||
1983–84 | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 58 | 31 | 60 | 91 | 149 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 18 | ||
1983–84 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | CHL | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
1984–85 | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 60 | 48 | 69 | 117 | 105 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | ||
1984–85 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1984–85 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
1985–86 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 28 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1985–86 | Nova Scotia Oilers | AHL | 47 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1986–87 | Nova Scotia Oilers | AHL | 80 | 22 | 25 | 47 | 165 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
1987–88 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 77 | 38 | 41 | 79 | 151 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 22 | ||
1988–89 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 77 | 36 | 67 | 103 | 158 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 30 | ||
1989–90 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1989–90 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 66 | 39 | 53 | 92 | 125 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1990–91 | EHC Olten | NDA | 8 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1990–91 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 65 | 31 | 57 | 88 | 115 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 14 | ||
1991–92 | Binghamton Rangers | AHL | 74 | 32 | 50 | 82 | 122 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 8 | ||
1992–93 | Binghamton Rangers | AHL | 78 | 54 | 84 | 138 | 112 | 14 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 32 | ||
1993–94 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 80 | 30 | 59 | 89 | 128 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 29 | ||
1994–95 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 77 | 27 | 49 | 76 | 152 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 29 | ||
1995–96 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 82 | 27 | 57 | 84 | 160 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 24 | ||
1996–97 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 82 | 25 | 41 | 66 | 128 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 19 | ||
1997–98 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 82 | 25 | 52 | 77 | 88 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 27 | ||
1998–99 | Utah Grizzlies | IHL | 60 | 19 | 36 | 55 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1998–99 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 23 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2001–02 | Cincinnati Cyclones | ECHL | 32 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 41 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | ||
AHL totals | 598 | 273 | 419 | 692 | 1026 | 70 | 27 | 52 | 79 | 110 | ||||
IHL totals | 486 | 156 | 311 | 467 | 762 | 50 | 24 | 34 | 58 | 128 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Toronto Maple Leafs Top NHL Draft Busts". January 7, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Don Biggs – AHL Hall of Fame". ahlhalloffame.com.
- ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
- ^ Barry, Sal (August 7, 2016). "The Making of 'Youngblood: An Oral History". The Hockey News. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
- ^ "Queen City Steam to become the Cincinnati Swords". North American Tier III Hockey League (NA3HL).
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database