Toronto Marlies Edition: Where are they now? Part 36 – Tyler Biggs

The name Tyler Biggs brings out a lot of negative emotions amongst the Toronto Maple Leafs fan base.

Arguably one of the biggest busts in (recent) franchise history, the player took a lot of flak during his time with the organisation.

That being said, Biggs’ did not decide where to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft and certainly did not deserve the abuse that was often sent his way.

Then General Manager, Brian Burke, opted to trade Toronto’s 30th and 39th picks in the 2011 NHL Entry draft for Anaheim’s 22nd overall pick.

Tyler Biggs was taken with the 22nd pick as Toronto passed over players including Phillip Danault, Brandon Saad, Rickard Rakell and John Gibson.
The latter two players were selected by the Ducks and went on to have solid NHL careers.

His junior career was fluid, spending time in the US development program, the USHL and a single season in the NCAA with Miami before heading to the OHL.

Toronto fans got their first look at Biggs in Oshawa as the forward recorded 53 points in 60 games through the 2012-13 campaign.

When the OHL season finished, Biggs received a first taste of the AHL.
Suiting up for four regular season games in which he recorded his first professional goal.

It was evident in his rookie campaign, that Tyler Biggs was struggling to be an impactful player.
The winger mustered just seven goals and two assists through 57 outings and looked out of his depth.

His stint with the Toronto Marlies would ultimately be a short-lived affair, as any thoughts of a bounceback sophomore season were quashed.

Image: Graig Abel

His offense dried up even further at the AHL level, and a reassignment to the ECHL for an eight-game stint spelt the end.

The following summer, Toronto cut their losses as Biggs was included as part of the Phil Kessel trade with Pittsburgh.

Biggs played very little hockey in the following four seasons and would not receive a shot in the NHL.

He was an ECHL regular by 2016 and spent the majority of his time in the third professional tier.

There was a brief stint across the ocean in the UK with the Nottingham Panthers but Biggs would return to North America to play out the remainder of the 2018-19 campaign.

The Binghamton native would ultimately retire from the sport in 2019 at the relatively tender age of 26.

The now 29-year-old isn’t the first and certainly shan’t be the last hockey player to choose retirement earlier than expected.

In the three years since hanging up his skates, Biggs has been extremely busy building his life after hockey.

Initially a commercial diver, the NY native has upped sticks to Seattle, where he is now an Emergency Medical Technician (if LinkedIn can be believed!).

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