Carolina Hurricanes Prospects: Danny Biega Among Defenseman to Compete for NHL Job
By Brett Finger
Between now and the start of the preseason, Cardiac Cane will preview every Carolina Hurricanes prospect as they enter the 2015-2016 season and what we expect from them in the coming year.
Player: Danny Biega
Position: Defense
Date of Birth: September 29, 1991 (23)
Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec (Canada)
Height/Weight: 6’0″/205 lbs.
2015-2016 Team: Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) and Charlotte Checkers (AHL)
Scouting Report:
"Biega, one of three brothers to play college hockey at Harvard — a fourth brother, Michael, is now a freshman at Merrimack — is a two-way defenseman who plays with an edge. He is slightly under the size of an average NHL defender but he has good foot speed and acceleration. Biega is very effective using his his edges and transitions well on his skates. He has tremendous poise with the puck and makes simple, smart outlet passes with excellent vision. (HOCKEY’S FUTURE)"
A player with two full seasons of AHL experience, Danny Biega is one of the many candidates to make the Carolina Hurricanes out of training camp in September on the blue line.
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Biega, 23, had a four-year college career at Harvard from 2009-2013. After a decent rookie year from the blue line (9 points in 32 games), the young defenseman really broke out in his sophomore and junior seasons.
As a sophomore, Biega tallied 11 goals and 30 points in 34 games, earning him Second All-Star Team Honors in the ECAC, but as impressive as that production was, he one upped himself a year later.
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As a junior in 2011-2012, the Montreal native tallied a remarkable 35 points in 31 games, and he he was a+14. He gained all of the following accolades that season: NCAA East First All-American, ECAC All-Tournament Team, ECAC Best Defensive Defenseman, ECAC First All-Star Team, NCAA New England D1 All-Stars, and NCAA All-Ivy League First Team. All those accomplishments meant that Biega had a lot of high expectations for his final year at Harvard in 2012-2013, but unfortunately, things didn’t work out perfectly for him.
As a captain in his senior year, Biega’s numbers crashed, tallying just 11 points in 32 games. His plus/minus also went down to -10, 24 points worse than the season before.
Depite an off season in prodcution, he was still a recipient of the NCAA New England Unsung Hero Award, and he also earned All Ivy-League Second Team and NCAA Lowes Senior Class Second Team All-American honors.
The Carolina Hurricanes drafted Danny Biega in the 3rd round of the 2010 NHL Draft, following 1st and 2nd round picks Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk, and they signed him to a three-year entry level deal in March of 2013.
Since signing his rookie deal, Biega has played two seasons of AHL hockey and has earned one NHL call-up in the process.
In 2013-2014, Biega tallied 18 points in 65 AHL games, and in 2014-2015, he picked up 14 points in 68 games with an offensively challenged Charlotte team. He also played 10 games with the Hurricanes last season and picked up 2 assists in 10 games while registering a -5 rating.
Danny Biega won’t stand out much, but there is a lot that he can bring to the bottom pairing with the Carolina Hurricanes this season.
He can bring offense, as he showed at Harvard, but he has lost that to some extent over the past few seasons. If he can reclaim that offensive flair, it will improve his chances of making the big club.
Biega is also a reliable defensive player with a good stick, but he does have a tendency to be out of position at times, and we saw that a bit in his 10-game stint last season.
Overall, he is a good two-way player with impressive vision, despite being on the smaller side. He isn’t physical by any means, so he is a player that will rely on good stick play and instincts. Offensively he has the ability to make quick, crisp passes, which makes him a good powerplay blue liner. He also makes good breakout passes, which is something the Hurricanes have been lacking for a couple seasons.
This season, Biega will make a push for the NHL in training camp, but he will have stiff competition in guys like Noah Hanifin, Ryan Murphy, Haydn Fleury, Rasmus Rissanen, Michal Jordan, and several others.
With an increase in talent on the blue line, it is imperative for the French Canadian defenseman to have a good camp and show Bill Peters and his coaching staff that he is ready for the NHL.
In all likelihood, Biega will see more AHL time than NHL time this season. He is probably one good year in the AHL away from making a legitimate case for the Carolina Hurricanes.
One thing that separates other defensemen from Biega is that they excel in one area. Ryan Murphy excels offensively and has fantastic skating. Rasmus Rissanen excels on defense and brining physicality. Noah Hanifin doesn’t excel in one area, he excels in almost every area, but it is just a matter of how quickly he can translate that to the NHL.
This is also a contract year for Danny Biega, which should up his motivation to have a breakout year in 2015-2016.
Next: Daniel Althsuller Looks to Reclaim #1 Goalie Prospect Status