Vancouver Canucks: Top 5 underrated players going into 2019-20

VANCOUVER, BC - OCTOBER 31: Brendan Gaunce #50 of the Vancouver Canucks is congratulated by teammates Tyler Motte #64 and Antoine Roussel #26 after scoring during their NHL game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena October 31, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) /

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3. Alex Biega

Biega is coming off a career season for the Canucks where he put up 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in 41 games played. He also averaged 17:40 in ice time, which was also a career-high. Despite being the seventh or eighth defenceman at the beginning of the season, Biega was elevated at times to the top pairing when both Alex Edler and Chris Tanev were injured.

Over the past four seasons, Biega has done everything that has been asked of him, from being the seventh defenceman that doesn’t play for 20 games to playing as a fourth-line forward. There were times in a game where he even had to switch between the two.

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Despite all this, Biega just kept grinding away, doing his job. This is why he has become such a valuable member of the Canucks, albeit an underrated one.

He even added a bit of an offensive side to his game this past season, as we saw flashes of speed and a willingness to jump into the play. This was in addition to his usual game of physicality and nastiness on the forecheck. It’s no surprise his nickname is the “Bull Dog”.

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