After returning from his three-week stint in Carolina that began in late March, the second-year defenseman said that he immediately noticed a difference when finishing out the last few weeks of the season in Charlotte.
“I came back from it with so much confidence,” he said. “It’s amazing how much those 10 games helped me with my personal development. I feel like I gained so much skill and confidence. I felt great.”
It was an experience that may have changed his entire outlook, not only during those last few weeks but also over the next several months as he prepares to report to training camp in the fall. A solid all-around contributor and big minutes eater since his arrival from Harvard at the tail end of the 2012-13 season, he was behind the likes of Michal Jordan and Rasmus Rissanen on the depth chart until several circumstances combined to give him that first opportunity.
“I just want to put myself in a position to make the team,” said Biega, one of Carolina’s third-round draft choices in 2010. “Those 10 games assured me that I’m definitely good enough. I just have to capture that spot.”
The Hurricanes’ offseason plans will help determine his chances to either make the team of the bat or at least move to the front of the line when it comes to recalls. With Jordan and Rissanen without contracts for next season, Biega, who is set to enter the final season of his entry-level deal, could very well be the Hurricanes’ most experienced prospect at that position.
He certainly held that title in those last few weeks of the season, particularly in one game on April 12 that saw him hold the blue line alongside five rookies, three of which made their pro debuts that month.
“It’s crazy,” said Biega, 23. “I feel like I’m one of the old guys on the team it was only my second year.”
He’s put himself in that “veteran” position partially due to the fact that his four years of college make him a year or two older than some of his teammates that came straight from junior hockey in Canada. It’s also because of the speed in which he adapted to the pros, with even a concussion suffered in his second or third AHL shift not slowing that process. His coach for both of his pro seasons, Jeff Daniels, even cited Biega’s rookie season when pointing to the fine first campaign that his defensive partner, Trevor Carrick, enjoyed in his own right.
For Biega to take the confidence gained from his NHL debut and make the next step, he plans to work on ways to get his shots through traffic and on net, something that often plagues young defensemen and could help him raise his offensive totals closer to what they were in college (he scored 34 points in 35 games as a junior, a pace that ranked second among all NCAA defensemen).
Technical improvements aside, it’s safe to say he’s more comfortable with the idea of being an NHL player he may have been prior to that first recall.
“In the first two games I had to feel it out get my feet a little wet so there’s going to be some minor mistakes made here and there, but after that game I just jumped into it right away and it forced me to be good and on my game,” he said. “I’d like to think that I did a pretty good job with it.”
