Alex Biega wasn鈥檛 supposed to play for the Canucks this season. The Canucks had a wealth of right-side defencemen: Chris Tanev, Kevin Bieksa, Yannick Weber, Adam Clendening, and Frank Corrado. Then that right-side depth got wiped out.
Even still, Biega wasn鈥檛 meant to be on the Canucks, to the point that he was . Generally, AHL teams will pick a captain that is expected to stay in the AHL. The past two captains of the Comets were Colin Stuart and Cal O鈥橰eilly, both AHL veterans with little chance of earning a call-up.
Biega, with his 333 AHL games and just 7 in the NHL, was likely seen as a safe choice as captain for the Comets. But thanks to a series of injuries and some solid play from Biega, it鈥檚 beginning to look more and more like the Comets will be without their captain for the rest of the season.
After the Canucks got pulverized by the Kings, Willie Desjardins and said he won鈥檛 be going anywhere.听
鈥淗e has impressed me,鈥� said Desjardins. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to be the biggest guy. It鈥檚 how hard you want to play and he won鈥檛 be coming out of the lineup 鈥� he won鈥檛. Others will come out.鈥�
Biega has certainly played hard, but has he played well enough to push other defencemen out of the lineup?
With all of the injuries to the Canucks鈥� defence, Biega has taken on more-and-more responsibility, to the point that he鈥檚 been playing on the top pairing with Alex Edler. He鈥檚 handled that responsibility well, though Edler should be given some credit for the top pairing鈥檚 performance in Tanev鈥檚 absence.
If you look at the underlying numbers, however, Biega鈥檚 performance starts to look a little uglier.
Biega is carrying a 44.48 corsi percentage, better than only Luca Sbisa among Canucks defencemen. While corsi isn鈥檛 everything, it is a bad sign that the Canucks give up far more shot attempts than they get with him on the ice.
It鈥檚 not just attempts: the Canucks have been out-shot with Biega on the ice. That鈥檚 not really news, however: the Canucks have been out-shot with every defenceman on the ice except Edler and Tanev. But the Canucks give up more shots per 60 minutes with Biega than any defenceman except Matt Bartkowski.
And it鈥檚 not just shots: the Canucks have given up more scoring chances per 60 minutes with Biega on the ice than any defenceman except Bartkowski and Sbisa.
So why haven鈥檛 the Canucks given up more goals with him on the ice? That might have something to do with the .946 save percentage Canucks鈥� goaltenders are putting up behind him. That鈥檚 highest among Canucks defencemen and 25th highest among NHL defencemen with at least 100 minutes played. With even average goaltending behind him, we鈥檇 likely see a lot more goals with Biega on the ice and a lot more plays to dissect Biega鈥檚 defensive performance.
It鈥檚 a bad sign when your name keeps coming up in relation to Bartkowski and Sbisa, who are two of the worst defencemen who get regular minutes in the NHL. On the other hand, it鈥檚 a positive sign when you can say that Biega is at least not as bad as Bartkowski and Sbisa.
There鈥檚 also something to be said for his effort level and willingness to engage physically despite his size and he's been an effective penalty killer as well. His solid performance alongside Edler is certainly enough for me to think he deserves some more time at the NHL level to prove himself.
At the very least, he鈥檚 better than Bartkowski defensively and when paired with a puck-mover鈥攕ay, Ben Hutton鈥攈e could be a serviceable third pairing defenceman. That鈥檚 a lot more than anyone expected out of Biega this season.
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* All statistics from war-on-ice.com
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