Chris Bigras

Chris Bigras
Born (1995-02-22) February 22, 1995
Orillia, Ontario
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 Colorado Avalanche
San Antonio Rampage (AHL)
NHL Draft 32nd overall, 2013
Colorado Avalanche
Playing career 2015–present

Christopher Bigras (born February 22, 1995) is a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing for the San Antonio Rampage in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect for the Colorado Avalanche in the National Hockey League (NHL). Bigras was selected by the Avalanche in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He was born in Orillia, Ontario, but grew up in Elmvale, Ontario.

Playing career

Junior

Bigras first played midget hockey within the Barrie Colts before moving to play major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League with the Owen Sound Attack. During the 2012–13 season he played with Team Canada to win gold medals at both the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and the 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships. He was rated as a top prospect eligible for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft before he was selected by the Avalanche.[1]

During his first training camp with the Avalanche, Bigras impressed immediately from the blueline and was signed to a three-year entry level contract with the Avalanche on September 17, 2013.[2] His performance was praised by head coach Patrick Roy and as a result, he was amongst the final cuts in being returned to the Attack of the OHL for the 2013–14 season.[3] Bigras was named as an Alternate captain and although failing to reproduce his previous season offensive numbers with a weaker Owen Sound squad, he was voted by the league's coaches as the OHL best defensive defenseman.[4]

Over the summer, Bigras attended Canada's National junior development camp before participating in his second training camp with the Avalanche. Bigras failed to replicate his form from his initial camp and was reassigned to Owen Sound at the conclusion of camp. In his last season of junior in 2014–15, Bigras was relied upon as the Attack's number one defenseman. He continued his development to break out offensively in leading all blueline teammates in each scoring category with 20 goals, 51 assists and 71 points in 62 games, finishing second in the OHL. He earnt selection to the OHL First All-Star team and surpassed Owen Sound All-time scoring records in leading the club amongst defenseman with 120 assists and 155 points in his junior career.[5]

Professional

After a first round defeat in the post-season signalling the conclusion of his OHL career, Bigras was signed to an amateur try-out contract with the Avalanche's AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters on April 7, 2015 and made his debut that night against the Chicago Wolves. Bigras recorded his first professional point, an assist, in the following game against the Rochester Americans on April 9. With the Monsters out of playoff contention, he finished the campaign with 4 assists in 7 games.

Bigras was assigned to begin his first full professional season in 2015–16 season, with new Avalanche AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage.[6] He established himself amongst top-pairing minutes with the Rampage, appearing in every contest and placing second amongst the defense in scoring before he received his first NHL recall to the Avalanche on January 13, 2016.[7] Bigras made his NHL debut with the Avalanche in a 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on January 14, 2016.[8] He collected his first NHL point on an assist in the following game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 16.[9] Bigras was initially placed on the third pairing to continue his development, showing his defensive prowess, before scoring his first NHL goal in his 21st game in a 6-3 defeat to the Minnesota Wild on February 2, 2016.[10]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2011–12 Owen Sound Attack OHL 49 3 16 19 33 5 2 3 5 0
2012–13 Owen Sound Attack OHL 68 8 30 38 34 12 0 2 2 8
2013–14 Owen Sound Attack OHL 55 4 22 26 46 5 1 2 3 4
2014–15 Owen Sound Attack OHL 62 20 51 71 52 5 1 2 3 4
2014–15 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 7 0 4 4 2 — — — — —
2015–16 San Antonio Rampage AHL 37 6 13 19 6 — — — — —
2015–16 Colorado Avalanche NHL 31 1 2 3 16 — — — — —
NHL totals 31 1 2 3 16 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2012 Canada Ontario U17 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 6 1 1 2 2
2012 Canada IH18 1st, gold medalist(s) 5 0 0 0 2
2013 Canada WJC18 1st, gold medalist(s) 7 0 3 3 0
2014 Canada WJC 4th 7 0 0 0 0
Junior totals 25 1 4 5 4

Awards and honours

Award Year
OHL
First All-Star Team 2015 [11]
International
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament Gold Medal 2012 [12]
IIHF World U18 Championship Gold Medal 2013 [13]

References

  1. ↑ "Bigras drawing attention for 2013 draft". USA Today. 2013-06-21. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
  2. ↑ "Avalanche signs Chris Bigras". Colorado Avalanche. 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  3. ↑ "Avs send Chris Bigras to junior". The Score. 2013-09-26. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
  4. ↑ "Chris Bigras unlikely to play with team next season". Denver Post. 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  5. ↑ "Bigras honoured for points record". Owen Sound Sun Times. 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
  6. ↑ "Bigras to make NHL debut Vs. Devils". Colorado Avalanche. 2016-01-14. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  7. ↑ "Avs place Nate Guenin on waivers, recall Bigras and Zadorov". Denver Post. 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  8. ↑ "Pickard stops 27 shots to help Avalanche beat Devils 3-0". CBS Sports. 2016-01-14. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  9. ↑ "Johnson scores late to give Blue Jackets victory over Avalanche". CBS Sports. 2016-01-16. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  10. ↑ "Chris Bigras scores 1st NHL goal". Colorado Avalanche. 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  11. ↑ "OHL annoucnes 2014-15 All-Star Teams". Ontario Hockey League. 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  12. ↑ "22 CHL players win 2012 Ivan Hlinka Gold". Canadian Hockey League. 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  13. ↑ "Canada's National Men's Under-18 Team wins gold medal at 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship". Hockey Canada. 2013-03-02. Retrieved 2013-03-02.

External links

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