Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alex Biega (55) keeps the puck from Detroit Red Wings center Gustav Nyquist (14) in the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 18, 2015 in Detroit. Photograph by: Paul Sancya , AP

Alex Biega has always believed he could be a National Hockey League regular. It’s the rest of the hockey world that had to be convinced.

They’re starting to come around.

Biega logged his 11th NHL game this season on the Canucks’ defence Tuesday in Tampa Bay, collecting an assist in Vancouver’s 2-1 win over the Lightning that concluded a six-game road trip.

Biega will live to see Game No. 12 tonight — and maybe a whole lot more than that.

That brings a smile to the face of the player his peers call Bulldog.

Biega is 27 now and has logged 347 games in the American Hockey League, never giving up belief in himself. It hasn’t always been easy.

“There were definitely tough times and I think it’s safe to say I went through a little more adversity than the average guy getting to the NHL,” Biega says. “But it’s just a belief that I have held onto. You compare yourself to guys on the ice every day and you just hang onto that belief you can play.”

Biega, who has been paired on Vancouver’s defence with Matt Bartkowski, has played well since being called up from the Utica Comets. He is averaging better than 17 minutes a night on the Canucks’ blue-line. He got that Bulldog nickname because of his stature — he is listed at 5-10 (“and a half,” he adds with a smile) — and his physical play.

Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins likes what he has seen so far from the Montreal native.

“He competes hard, he is aggressive all the time,” Desjardins says. “I like that in him. He is excited to be up here, so he brings some energy. I think he has been a good fit.”

Biega, who played seven games for the Canucks last season, was selected in the fifth round (147th overall) in the 2006 draft by the Buffalo Sabres. Canucks GM Jim Benning, then with the Sabres, played a big part in drafting him.

Biega got caught up in a numbers game with the Sabres, who had lots of defensive depth. He was stuck behind guys such as Brayden McNabb, T.J. Brennan and Mark Pysyk.

Biega signed with the Canucks in the summer of 2013 and began his third year with Utica this season.

He credits Comets coach Travis Green with helping him get his game NHL-ready.

“The last two years under Travis Green is really when I started finding my game and developed into the player I am now,” he says. “He has been instrumental in that.”

Biega also thinks his game is now better suited for today’s NHL, which puts less of a premium on size.

“I look at the NHL and it’s kind of trending where you get more smaller defencemen in the league now, more puck-moving guys, and more of a puck-possession game,” he says. “That is something I have tried to hang onto.”

Biega grew up in Montreal as the eldest of four boys. His dad built his sons a backyard rink and Biega and his brothers spent countless winter hours smashing pucks and each other.