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Alex Biega (ice hockey)

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Alex Biega
Biega with the Utica Comets in 2014
Born (1988-04-04) April 4, 1988 (age 36)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Vancouver Canucks
Detroit Red Wings
Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL draft 147th overall, 2006
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2010–2022

Alex Biega (born April 4, 1988) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Biega was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 5th round (147th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and played the majority of his career with the Vancouver Canucks.

Playing career

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As a youth, Biega played in the 2001 and 2002 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from West Island, Montreal.[1]

Amateur

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Biega was drafted by the Rimouski Océanic in the first round (11th overall) of the 2004 QMJHL Entry Draft,[2] but choose instead to play high school hockey at Salisbury School in Salisbury, Connecticut.[3] 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.[4] In his senior year, Biega was named the team's captain.[4]

Professional

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Biega was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Upon graduation from university, on May 27, 2010, Biega was signed by the Sabres to a two-year contract.[5] He attended his first Sabres training camp, but was cut and sent to the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Portland Pirates.[6] On October 9, 2010 Biega made his professional debut playing with the 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.[7] 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.[4] Biega spent the entire 2011–12 season with the Rochester Americans, the new AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres.[8] He registered 5 goals and 25 points in 72 games and played in 3 playoff games with no points.[9]

On July 5, 2013, Biega agreed to a one-year contract as a free agent with the Vancouver Canucks.[9] 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.[10] Biega made his NHL debut with the Canucks on February 16, 2015, scoring his first NHL goal in a 3–2 win over the Minnesota Wild.[11] Biega's goal would be the game winner.[12] He finished the season with 7 games played for the Canucks, scoring the one goal. With the Comets, he finished with 3 goals and 19 points in 69 regular season games and four points in 16 playoff games en route to the Calder Cup final.[13]

Biega started the 2015–16 season with the Comets where he was named captain.[14] 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.[15] On February 2, 2016, Biega signed a one-way, two-year contract extension valued at $1.5 million.[16] At the start of the 2016–17 NHL season, Biega made the Canucks out of training camp, but only appeared in one game as a forward before being sent down to the Comets for a conditioning stint in November.[14] In 2017–18, Biega played 31 games with the Canucks, registering 6 assists.[17] On February 28, 2018, Biega was again signed to a two-year, $1.65 million contract extension by the Canucks.[17] Biega made the Canucks out of camp again at the start of the 2018–19 NHL season, but was sent down to Utica on October 18 not having played a game.[18] He was recalled on October 25[19] and scored his first goal of the season and second overall for the Canucks in an overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on February 7, 2019.[20] He finished the season appearing in 41 games, scoring two goals and registering 16 points.[21]

On September 30, 2019, Biega was placed on waivers by the Canucks, prior to the start of the 2019–20 NHL season. He cleared waivers the next day.[22] On October 6, 2019, Biega was traded by the Canucks to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for David Pope.[23] He made his debut for the Red Wings on October 15, in a game against his former team, the Vancouver Canucks.[24] He finished the season with 3 points in 48 games with the Red Wings.[25] On March 9, 2020, Biega signed a one-year contract extension with the Red Wings.[26] During the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season, Biega was placed on waivers for the purpose of transferring him to the Red Wings' taxi squad.[27] He finished the season with 3 points in 13 games with the Red Wings.[28]

On July 28, 2021, having left the Red Wings as a free agent, Biega was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.[28] Biega saw little action with the Maple Leafs, playing in only two games.[29] He made his debut for the Maple Leafs on January 1, 2022 against the Ottawa Senators.[30] He played in 31 games with the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. On March 21, 2022, Biega was traded to the Nashville Predators for future considerations.[29] He was assigned to the Predators' AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.[31]

On December 19, 2022 Biega announced his retirement from professional hockey.[32]

Personal life

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Biega's brother, Danny Biega, was also a professional ice hockey player who last played for the Carolina Hurricanes. He also has two other brothers, Marc and Michael.[33] Alex, Danny, and Michael all played hockey for Harvard University, becoming the first trio of brothers since 2000 to play for Harvard.[34]

Biega met his wife Diana while in Boston.[33] They had a son together in April 2015.[35] While with the Vancouver Canucks, Biega became involved with the National Hockey League Players Association's Core Development Program, which helps former NHL players transition from their hockey careers post retirement, helping to develop the program.[36]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 West Island Lions QMAAA 37 7 17 24 58 9 0 9 9 15
2004–05 Salisbury School USHS 27 9 22 31 45 — — — — —
2005–06 Salisbury School USHS 28 10 17 27 51 — — — — —
2006–07 Harvard University ECAC 33 6 12 18 36 — — — — —
2007–08 Harvard University ECAC 34 3 19 22 28 — — — — —
2008–09 Harvard University ECAC 31 4 16 20 50 — — — — —
2009–10 Harvard University ECAC 33 2 8 10 30 — — — — —
2010–11 Portland Pirates AHL 61 3 15 18 52 12 1 1 2 6
2011–12 Rochester Americans AHL 65 5 18 23 47 2 0 2 2 6
2012–13 Rochester Americans AHL 72 5 20 25 59 3 0 2 2 2
2013–14 Utica Comets AHL 73 3 19 22 53 — — — — —
2014–15 Utica Comets AHL 62 3 16 19 24 23 0 4 4 16
2014–15 Vancouver Canucks NHL 7 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2015–16 Utica Comets AHL 14 1 5 6 8 — — — — —
2015–16 Vancouver Canucks NHL 51 0 7 7 22 — — — — —
2016–17 Vancouver Canucks NHL 36 0 3 3 18 — — — — —
2016–17 Utica Comets AHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2017–18 Vancouver Canucks NHL 44 1 8 9 32 — — — — —
2018–19 Utica Comets AHL 3 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
2018–19 Vancouver Canucks NHL 41 2 14 16 22 — — — — —
2019–20 Detroit Red Wings NHL 49 0 3 3 24 — — — — —
2020–21 Detroit Red Wings NHL 13 0 3 3 4 — — — — —
2021–22 Toronto Marlies AHL 31 1 6 7 28 — — — — —
2021–22 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2021–22 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 15 3 4 7 14 2 0 0 0 0
AHL totals 397 24 105 129 287 42 1 9 10 30
NHL totals 243 4 38 42 122 — — — — —

International

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Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2005 Canada Quebec U17 9th 5 0 0 0 4
Junior totals 5 0 0 0 4

Awards and honours

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Award Year
College
All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team 2006–07 [37]
All-ECAC Hockey Third Team 2007–08
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team 2008 [38]
All-ECAC Hockey Third Team 2008–09
All-Ivy League First All-Star Team 2008–09 [4]
ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team 2008–09 [39]

References

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  1. ^ "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 2019-02-15.
  2. ^ "2004 QMJHL Entry Draft". dropyourgloves.com. June 5, 2004. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
  3. ^ Montalbano, Vincent (February 17, 2006). "McKeens Hockey - USHS: Alex Biega Q & A". mckeenshockey.rivals.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2006.
  4. ^ a b c d The American Hockey League - Alex Biega's AHL Profile
  5. ^ "Boucher nears return". Boston.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2012-05-31. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
  6. ^ "Buffalo Sabres Trim Camp Roster by 14 Players" (Press release). Portland Pirates. September 29, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2022 – via oursportscentral.com.
  7. ^ "The American Hockey League - Saturday's AHL Boxscores - Portland 2, Worcester 1 (SO)". Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
  8. ^ Snow, Kevin (2011-10-18). "Friday Camp Notes". Buffalo Sabres. Retrieved 2011-10-18 – via NHL.com.
  9. ^ a b "Canucks sign Weber, Biega and Blain". Vancouver Canucks. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-07-05 – via NHL.com.
  10. ^ Jamieson, Jim (2014-12-15). "D-man Biega just happy to be here with the Canucks". The Province. Archived from the original on 2015-02-03. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  11. ^ "Canucks' Biega scores first NHL goal in win vs. Wild". NHL.com. 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  12. ^ Clipperton, Joshua (2015-02-17). "Alex Biega scores winner in his first NHL game as Canucks down Wild". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  13. ^ Wild, Lionel (June 30, 2015). "Canucks re-sign Alex Biega". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Birnell, Ben (November 26, 2016). "Alex Biega re-joins Utica Comets". Utica Observer-Dispatch. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  15. ^ "Jagr scores No. 732, Panthers edge Canucks". NHL.com. 2015-12-20. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  16. ^ "Canucks extend Biega, dodge free agency". Sportsnet. 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  17. ^ a b "Canucks Sign Defenceman Alex Biega". NHL.com. February 28, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  18. ^ "Canucks assign defenseman Biega to Comets". Rome Daily Sentinel. October 18, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  19. ^ "Canucks recall Biega, Brisebois from Comets". Vancouver Canucks. October 25, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2022 – via NHL.com.
  20. ^ "Canucks' Alex Biega: Scores first goal of season". CBS. February 8, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  21. ^ Khan, Ansar (October 7, 2019). "Red Wings acquire defenseman Alex Biega from Vancouver". Michigan Live. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  22. ^ "Canucks reduce pre-season roster". NHL.com. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  23. ^ "Canucks trade defenceman Alex Biega to Red Wings for forward David Pope". Sportsnet. October 6, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  24. ^ "Notes: Biega may make Detroit debut against former team". NHL.com. October 14, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  25. ^ "Red Wings sign Biega to 1-year extension". TSN. The Canadian Press. March 9, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  26. ^ Kujawa, Kyle (March 9, 2020). "Detroit signs Alex Biega to one-year extension". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved March 10, 2020 – via NHL.com.
  27. ^ "Red Wings' Alex Biega: Placed on waivers". CBS. April 11, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  28. ^ a b "Maple Leafs Sign Defencemen Alex Biega and Carl Dahlstrom". Toronto Maple Leafs. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  29. ^ a b "Maple Leafs trade Alex Biega to Predators for future considerations". Sportsnet. March 21, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  30. ^ "Predators Acquire Alex Biega from Toronto". Nashville Predators. March 21, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022 – via NHL.com.
  31. ^ Cruz, Michael (March 22, 2022). "Toronto Marlies move on to playoff push without Alex Biega". Toronto Observer. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  32. ^ Birnell, Ben (December 19, 2022). "Former Utica Comets captain Alex Biega retires". Rome Daily Sentinel. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  33. ^ a b MacIntyre, Ian (January 21, 2016). "Iain MacIntyre: Biega boys grow up to bleed Crimson". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  34. ^ Lambert, Craig (January 2010). "Fraternal Forechecking". harvardmagazine.com. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  35. ^ Laible, Don (October 27, 2015). "Comets Tales: Biega's Game Continues to Soar". uticacomets.com. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  36. ^ Kulfan, Ted (April 7, 2020). "Red Wings' Alex Biega a major promoter of life after hockey for NHL players". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  37. ^ ECAC Hockey Mobile : ECAC Hockey League Announces Annual Award Winners
  38. ^ "All-Tournament Honors" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  39. ^ Hockey Awards & Achievements - NCAA (ECAC) All-Academic Team
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