« DI Hockey 2012-13

Danny Biega

School
Harvard
Position
Defense
Major
Sociology
G
2
A
9
PTS
11
+/-
-10

Classroom

Along with being a leader on the ice for the Crimson, Biega has been a model student-athlete as well. Through three years at Harvard, Biega has compiled a 3.110 grade-point average as a sociology concentrator. Following his breakout junior season, Biega was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Academic team, helping Harvard claim one of the highest numbers of honored student-athletes in the league last season.

Character

“Danny has been a leader since the day he walked in,” said Harvard men’s hockey head coach Ted Donato. “This year, he’ll wear the ‘C’ on his jersey, so that’s great for all of us.” Biega was named the 120th captain in Harvard men’s hockey history and takes over a team that emerged as a national contender last season, after finishing close to the bottom of the league his first two seasons. “Throughout my youth, I was always fortunate enough to be on winning hockey teams,” said Biega. “However, my first two years at Harvard were not as fortunate. Our team lost, a lot. I strongly believe that the most important life lessons are learned through times of struggle rather than success. I am now appreciative that I experienced these losing seasons because I learned how to deal with hardship and adversity. I learned that it is essential to keep fighting, vital to keep putting in as much effort as possible, because that is the only way to overcome adversity and achieve success.”

Community

As a marquee student-athlete at Harvard, Biega has been sure to stay involved in helping others in the local community, within and outside of the game of hockey. Biega has been at the forefront of his team’s involvement with the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, helping his squad “adopt” 12-year old Nathan Potvin, a Harvard hockey fan who has battled a spinal cord tumor since age five. Potvin has his own stall in the Harvard hockey locker room and is an honorary member of the squad. Biega has also donated a number of times to various cancer research foundations and offered service and assistance at retirement houses and homeless shelters during his time at Harvard.

Danny has recently embarked on developing his own start-up company.  His project was recently accepted into the competitive program at the Harvard Innovation Lab. He and his team will be residents there for the spring semester, working daily on his start-up business. The Harvard Innovation Lab is open to applicants from all of the Harvard’s 12 schools and only accepts teams with start-up ideas the board believes will flourish. The I Lab also provides resources from legal advisers to mentorship and meetings with experienced CEO’s to assist in the development of start-up companies, all of which Danny is taking full advantage.  As he continues to pursue his start-up, he is dedicating all of his free time to developing this company.

Competition

Heading into his senior season, a number of media outlets have already dubbed Biega one of the best, if not the best, defenseman in the country. A 2011-12 CCM Hockey All-American, Biega was second on the team, and first among defensemen, with 35 points on 10 goals and 25 assists last year. He was the runner-up in voting for the 2012 ECAC Hockey Player of the Year, and was named the league’s Best Defensive Defenseman. He received unanimous first-team All-Ivy League credentials and was also named to the ECAC Hockey All-League first team and ECAC Hockey Championship All-Tournament team. In his sophomore year, he picked up first team All-Ivy, second team ECAC all-league and New England All-Star honors and took home the John Tudor Memorial Cup as Harvard’s most valuable player, leading the team in points (30) and assists (19). “Sometimes he gets painted as an offensive guy because his numbers are so good, but he’s also our best defensive defenseman as well,” said Donato of Biega. “He’s strong, he’s quick, and his ability to impact all three zones is important to us.”