Canucks assign Alex Biega to Utica for conditioning assignment

Alex Biega is finally going to get to play in a hockey game today. He’ll play at his natural position in an NHL arena too…

…Except it won’t be in Denver with the Canucks, as Biega was assigned to the Utica Comets on a conditioning stint on Saturday. He’ll be in the Comets’ lineup as they face the Toronto Marlies at the Air Canada Centre.

The Marlies, who normally play home games at Ricoh Coliseum, appear in a handful of games at the ACC. Biega at the Comets will take to the ice at 10:30 am PT, with the Maple Leafs and Capitals playing afterwards at 4 pm PT on Hockey Night in Canada.

Corrado and Biega at the ACC "they won't let you play either?" pic.twitter.com/xW56HUsNQE

— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) November 26, 2016

The man who yesterday we dubbed “the invisible man” ran into ex-teammate and current Leafs healthy scratch regular Frank Corrado in the hallway this morning. Like Biega, Corrado has appeared in just one NHL game this season.

See also

• The invisible man: Alex Biega continues to sit, wait for opportunity to play with Canucks
• Canucks look to go the extra mile in Colorado

Biega was sent to the AHL on a conditioning assignment, meaning he does not have to clear waivers and must be returned to the Canucks after 14 days. It’s the only way for him to get into the lineup these days, as he has fallen to #9 on the depth chart with the emergence of Troy Stecher and Nikita Tryamkin. He’s also waiver-eligible and potentially attractive to other teams for expansion draft exposure requirements.