Toronto Maple Leafs: Looking Back on the 2011 NHL Entry Draft

Round 1 Pick 22 – F Tyler Biggs

With the 22nd overall selection in the 2011 NHL draft, acquired earlier that day from the Anaheim Ducks, the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Tyler Biggs out of the US Development Program.

Biggs, much like many other highly-touted prospects, was a decent scorer prior to the draft. The New York native scored 19 goals and 31 points in 55 USDP games, along with a 20 game-11 point stint in the USHL, in his draft year.

Although his scoring was decent, it was clear that his production was not a focus of the Brian Burke run Maple Leafs. Biggs stands at 6’2″ and 205 lbs, which means he brings all the ‘truculence’ 

Biggs’ first year in the Leafs organization saw him attend Miami University of Ohio, where he scored a rather disappointing (hmm…possible trend?) 17 points in 37 games. 

The next season, Biggs joined the Oshawa Generals of the OHL at age 19. Biggs, like many older player, exploded in the OHL. The American forward scored 53 points in 60 games. To close out the 2012-13 season, Biggs played 4 games with the Toronto Marlies, and scored a single goal.

Over the next two seasons, Biggs would play 104 AHL games, scoring an astonishingly…bad 14 points (0.07 P/GP). Biggs would also appear in 8 ECHL games in 2014-15, scoring 6 points.

Then, after 4 years of mediocrity & disappointment, a 22 year-old Tyler Biggs was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in July 2015 for a lucrative package that involved Kasperi Kapanen.

Since that deal, Biggs has appeared in 11 AHL games (2 points), 128 ECHL games (80 points), and 24 games in the EIHL (9 points).

Now 26, Biggs sits unsigned. With no place to play for the upcoming 2019-20 season, Biggs may look to a career outside of hockey as he likely transitions into a new period of his life.