The Buffalo Sabres announced today that they’ve re-signed free agent defenseman Alex Biega, their fifth round draft pick in 2006, to a one-year, two-way contract. Darcy Regier later stated that this was part of the organization’s master plan to acquire “all the defensemen.”
Biega has spent the past few seasons in the minors, playing for both Portland and Rochester. The young blueliner tallied a 5-18-23 with a +10 last season in Rochester, and will almost certainly play there again exclusively this season barring enormous injuries along the defense.
Here’s what Hockey’s Future has to say about the young defenseman:
Biega is a well-built defenseman who is a strong skater with a good shot. He has a nice physical side and is tough to beat one-on-one due to his speed. Consistency has been his biggest issue, and he has been known to be caught out of position when pinching in on offense. Biega is a vocal, spirited leader who is well liked by his teammates.
Biega will have plenty of time to develop, with Brayden McNabb, Mark Pysyk, and TJ Brennan already ahead of him on the depth chart, and Jerome Gauthier-Leduc and Jake McCabe expected to come up quickly. He likely won’t make his first NHL start this season, but it’s another good signing for the farm team in Rochester.