The Dancing Bear Goes To College:

This is on the Vipers website:

The dancing bear goes to college

by don klepp Added 2009-06-24

After his sensational playoff run with the Vipers this spring, it seemed inevitable that Kyle Bigos would leave a year early to accept his college scholarship. Still, the affable Californian found it very hard to leave Vernon.

“It’s been such a great two years here,” he says. “The level of hockey, the players and coaches, the fans, the city, everything. This is such a great situation, and I really felt at home here, especially because of my billet family.” In the end though, Kyle and his parents, Walt and Bev, felt that the big guy needed to take that next step.

One can see why Kyle, a native of urban California, would feel at home in small town Canada; he has spent the better part of the last five years in Canada. Before coming to Vernon, he spent three years at Notre Dame College in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, where his parents bought a house and thoroughly enjoyed living on the prairies.

In fact, Kyle was all set to stay at Notre Dame where he would play for the Hounds’ Junior “A” team. But Braden Pimm came back from a fly out to Vernon raving about the Viper organization and the community, so Kyle says “I got real excited about Vernon, but it was just a dream at that point. But then at the Macs tournament in Calgary the Viper coaches and head scout Larry Black said the Vipers would commit to me and that was a dream come true.”

He adds, “That was a great decision. The coaches are so good to play for; you learn so much from Mark and Jason. You just want to go to war for them. And we’ve had a great bunch of guys here. We’d go through the wall for each other. It’s been everything Larry Black said it would be, and more.”

Clearly, Kyle Bigos has blossomed under the Ferner and Williamson’s tutelage, but it’s surprising that the 6’5” defenceman’s potential wasn’t recognized sooner. Larry Black agrees: “I’m sure that the Notre Dame coaches knew what they had, but I couldn’t believe that other Junior teams hadn’t pursued Kyle.”

What did Larry see in Kyle? He says, “for a big kid, he skated really well and handled the puck well, too. And that shot of his – when I saw him, he was shooting it low and hard from the point, and I thought this guy has it all; he just needed some polishing.”

He certainly received that fine tuning from Ferner and Williamson. As Kyle puts it, “I learned a lot about positioning and how to control the pace of play. Ferner really helped me and the other D-men with our footwork. He put us through footwork drills after practice, and that really helped a lot. As a pro player, he picked up a whole bunch of techniques that he passed on to us. He really stressed defence first, and that’s where I’ve improved the most.”

At the RBC Cup, Kyle wowed scouts with his ability to control the play each time he was on the ice. But, although his defensive play won him the top defenceman and MVP awards, one play sticks in peoples’ minds. Let’s call it THE GOAL, which came in the third period of the championship game, when the Vipers were nursing a 1-0 lead against defending champion Humboldt.

Here’s how Kyle remembers that play:” Kellen gave me a pass off the half wall, and the forward guarding me cheated down. All I wanted to do was fake a shot and get around him. It worked. I was looking to pass to Connor, but then a second forward came out to challenge, so I tried the same move and it worked again when he went down to block a shot. Now I was thinking shot, but Leedahl, the D-guy went down to block so I went around him, too. Then I was one-on-one on LaRochelle, who I know from Notre Dame. There’s a stuff move that I try against Andrew (Hammond) in practice. He always stops me, but LaRochelle tried a poke check and when the five-hole opened, I just put it in. It was all reaction, really, and then I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, that really happened’!”

This summer brings a high level of anticipation for Kyle. He’s just returned from a combine in New Jersey, where the NHL’s Devils tested Kyle and team mate Cory Kane, among others. The June 25 NHL draft will be an exciting day for both Kyle and Cory. Kyle wants a hockey career, if possible, but he’s realistic about the whole situation: “I’m kinda excited about maybe being chosen in the NHL draft, but I tell myself that I’m going to be a student athlete, so make sure the academic side is taken care of first. The hockey will fall into place, and I hope there’s a hockey life for me after college.”

Ever modest, Kyle sees the jump to NCAA hockey as “a big, big step. The big adjustment will be the speed of the game at the college level. If I’m successful, it will all stem from off-season workouts. I’m going to have to work harder and smarter than I’ve ever worked before, and I’m going to get a personal trainer.”

There’s a slim chance that the NHL team that selects Kyle on June 25 will want him to return for another year of junior. If so, the Vipers would be delighted and Kyle certainly wouldn’t mind another year in Vernon. Keep tuned for the next development in the career of the Vipers’ “Dancing Bear”!

This series is about the Vipers’ departing heroes. In subsequent weeks, look for stories about, Mike Leidl & Ryan Santana.