Alex Biega (ice hockey)

Alex Biega

Biega playing for the Utica Comets
Born (1988-04-04) April 4, 1988
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team Vancouver Canucks
NHL Draft 147th overall, 2006
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2010–present

Alex Biega (born April 4, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Biega was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 5th round (147th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. His brother is Danny Biega of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Playing career

Amateur

Biega was drafted by Rimouski Océanic in the first round (11th overall) of the 2004 QMJHL Entry Draft,[1] but choose instead to play high school hockey at Salisbury School in Salisbury, Connecticut.[2] Biega then attended Harvard University where he played four seasons of NCAA Division I ice hockey with the Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team. Biega was a standout player for the Crimson where, in his Freshman season, he was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Rookie team, and in his Junior year he was awarded the John Tudor Memorial Cup as the Crimson's most valuable player.[3] In his Senior Year Biega was named the team's Captain.[3]

Professional

Biega was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, but was not able to sign a professional contract until after he completed his NCAA play.[4] Upon graduation, on May 27, 2010, Biega was signed by the Sabres to a two-year contract.[5]

On October 9, 2010 Biega made his professional debut playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Portland Pirates, and on November 20, 2010, scored his first professional goal to help his team to a 2–1 win over the visiting Worcester Sharks.[6] He went on to play in 61 regular-season games with the Pirates during the 2010–11 AHL season and also played 12 playoff games during his rookie campaign.[3]

Biega began the 2011–12 season with the Rochester Americans, the new AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres.[7]

On July 5, 2013, Biega agreed to a one-year contract as a free agent with the Vancouver Canucks.[8] He was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets for their inaugural season in 2013–14, appearing in a career-high 73 games for 22 points from the blueline. On July 1, 2014, Biega re-signed with the Canucks, on a one-year contract worth $600,000. He was called up to Vancouver after posting 10 points in 25 games with Utica.[9]

Biega made his NHL debut with Vancouver on February 16, 2015 scoring his first NHL goal, the game-winner in a 3–2 win over the Minnesota Wild. [10]

Biega started the 2015-16 season with the Comets; where he was named captain at the start of the season.[11] He was called up to the Canucks in mid-December and on December 20, 2015, Biega earned his first career assist. It came on a Jannik Hansen goal in a 5−4 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers.[12]

On February 2, 2016 Biega signed a one-way, two-year contract extension valued at $1.5 million.[13]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05Salisbury SchoolUSHS279223145 — — — — —
2005–06Salisbury SchoolUSHS2810172751 — — — — —
2006–07Harvard UniversityECAC336121836 — — — — —
2007–08Harvard UniversityECAC343192228 — — — — —
2008–09Harvard UniversityECAC314162050 — — — — —
2009–10Harvard UniversityECAC33281030 — — — — —
2010–11Portland PiratesAHL613151852 12 1 1 2 6
2011–12Rochester AmericansAHL65518234720226
2012–13Rochester AmericansAHL725202559 3 0 2 2 2
2013–14Utica CometsAHL733192253 — — — — —
2014–15Utica CometsAHL623161924 23 0 4 4 16
2014–15Vancouver CanucksNHL71010 — — — — —
2015–16Utica CometsAHL141568 — — — — —
2015–16Vancouver CanucksNHL5107722 — — — — —
2016–17Vancouver CanucksNHL3603318 — — — — —
2016–17Utica CometsAHL10002 — — — — —
NHL totals 94 1 10 11 40 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2005 Canada Quebec WHC17 9th 5 0 0 0 4
Junior totals 5 0 0 0 4

Awards and honours

Award Year
All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team 2006–07 [14]
All-ECAC Hockey Third Team 2007–08
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team 2008 [15]
All-ECAC Hockey Third Team 2008–09
All-Ivy League First All-Star Team 2008–09 [3]
ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team 2008–09 [16]

References

  1. ↑ "2004 QMJHL Entry Draft". dropyourgloves.com. June 5, 2004. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
  2. ↑ Montalbano, Vincent (February 17, 2006). "McKeens Hockey - USHS: Alex Biega Q & A". mckeenshockey.rivals.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2006.
  3. 1 2 3 4 The American Hockey League - Alex Biega's AHL Profile
  4. ↑ Sabres organizational depth analysis, Fall 2009 - Hockey's Future
  5. ↑ Boston.com - Biega signs with Sabres
  6. ↑ The American Hockey League - Saturday's AHL Boxscores - Portland 2, Worcester 1 (SO)
  7. ↑ "Friday Camp Notes". Buffalo Sabres. 2011-10-18. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  8. ↑ "Canucks sign Weber, Biega and Blain". Vancouver Canucks. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  9. ↑ Jamieson, Jim (2014-12-15). "D-man Biega just happy to be here with the Canucks". The Province. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  10. ↑ "Canucks' Biega scores first NHL goal in win vs. Wild". nhl.com. 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  11. ↑ "Biega honored by Utica Comets captain role". uticaod.com. 2015-10-22. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  12. ↑ "Jagr scores No. 732, Panthers edge Canucks". nhl.com. 2015-12-20. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  13. ↑ Canucks extend Biega, dodge free agency., Sportsnet, 2016-02-02, retrieved 2016-02-15
  14. ↑ ECAC Hockey Mobile : ECAC Hockey League Announces Annual Award Winners
  15. ↑ "All-Tournament Honors" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  16. ↑ Hockey Awards & Achievements - NCAA (ECAC) All-Academic Team
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