Don Biggs

Donald R. Biggs (born April 7, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player.

This article is about the hockey player. For the Kansas state senator, see Donald Biggs.
Don Biggs
Born (1965-04-07) April 7, 1965
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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

Biggs was raised in Mississauga, Ontario on Carrera Lane and attended Clarkson High School.[2]

Playing career

As 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

Don 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
    Regular 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
  1. "Toronto Maple Leafs Top NHL Draft Busts". January 7, 2018.
  2. "Don Biggs – AHL Hall of Fame". ahlhalloffame.com.
  3. "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.
  4. Barry, Sal (August 7, 2016). "The Making of 'Youngblood: An Oral History". The Hockey News. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  5. "Queen City Steam to become the Cincinnati Swords". North American Tier III Hockey League (NA3HL).
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