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Colorado Avalanche defenseman Chris Bigras’ role hasn’t been defined for the upcoming season. He should make the roster — but will he be on the ice for opening night?
The Colorado Avalanche have long been known as a team that lacks on defense. Well, no one’s going to mistake them for a defensive team, but they do appear to have finally shored up their blueline. They have cornerstone defenseman Erik Johnson, his partner from last year, Francois Beauchemin, and offensive defenseman Tyson Barrie.
Eric Gelinas was a trade deadline pickup last season, but he got injured after just six games. We’ll be seeing what he can do this year. Colorado also picked up two defensemen in the summer, analytics wiz Patrick Wiercioch and Columbus Blue Jackets buyout Fedor Tyutin.
Add to that two players who were in and out of the lineup last season — Nikita Zadorov and Chris Bigras.
It’s hard to know what the new coach will do about defensive roster, if he’ll go with the eight, two being scratched. However, when you look at that defensive roster, you see a lot of experience ahead of the 21-year-old Bigras.
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Chris Bigras made pro March 2015 after finishing out his season with the Owen Sound Attack. He transitioned quickly into the AHL, first with the Lake Erie Monsters and then with the San Antonio Rampage. However, he spent portions of last season with the Colorado Avalanche — he played in 31 games and was on the roster for several others.
Bigras didn’t have stellar numbers with Colorado. However, they were pretty reasonable — one goal and two assists — considering his very limited experience and the state of the Avs defense at the time. He was mostly on the third pairing and saw no time on the specialty teams.
That said, Chris Bigras has come into training camp looking to impress. He easily had one of the best Rookie Showcase performances of all the Colorado Avalanche prospects. He got two goals, one in each game, and they were big goals. His goal against the San Jose Sharks was the tournament-opening tally, and his goal against the Anaheim Ducks was the game winner.
Naturally Bigras, like all other players, worked hard over the summer. What’s more, he said during a post-game presser that he thought the Rookie Showcase gave him and the other youngsters “a leg up” on the vets because they got to work within the new coaching systems.
Can Chris Bigras impress enough in the remainder of the preseason to earn a spot on opening night? I think he might actually have a chance. It’s not that I have disallowed Bigras’ talent and skill, but I didn’t realize how much of a nose for scoring he really had.
I’d like to see him paired with one of the veterans, at least to start the season. I’d especially fancy him on a pairing with Francois Beauchemin, who has long displayed a similar style. That way he can learn the tricks of the NHL trade.
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