In a story entitled "Merrimack's biggest player comes up big in Merrimack win", Eagle Tribune sports writer Mike McMahon heaps most of his praise on the physical aspect of Kyle Bigos' game, even after Bigos delivered a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over Northeastern last night. Even though fighting is not allowed in NCAA hockey, McMahon calls the 6'5", 240 pound Bigos Merrimack's "enforcer", using phrases like "game-changer," "a predator eyeing its prey," and "tone-setter".
McMahon also noted his rocket from the point:
"With the puck, his slap shot, which tends to ride low along the ice, practically breaks the sound barrier."
Bigos sounds almost too good to be true.
I spoke with McMahon last year and discovered that Bigos is enormous defender with decent mobility, possesses a great slapshot and excels on the penalty kill. And according to McMahon, Bigos "...hits like a Mack Truck," and "is a frieght train on skates."
Bigos came in at number 25 in our Top 25 Under 25, but Scott and I are a bit more bullish on him, ranking him in the top 25. When our Top 25 group wrote about dark horses in the group, I wrote that Bigos is going to be the guy that surprises all Oilers' fans in the next two years:
I had a very difficult time ranking Bigos because so little is known about him. I think if he were in a larger media market, everyone would rate him much higher than they are now. In fact, if I had to guess, I think he's going to be one of the biggest movers in one of the next two installments of the Top 25 Under 25.
Bigos is a junior by eligibility this season, but if he has another physically dominating season, I'd be very surprised to see him back at Merrimack for his final season. He's got all of the tools to play the pro game and with a dearth of right-handed defensemen at the pro level, Edmonton needs a physical player like Bigos.