Bruins add depth with Whitfield, Larman

pro_200.jpgThe Boston Bruins, parent club of the AHL’s Providence Bruins, announced today that the club has signed four players to one-year contracts. Per club policy, terms of the deals will not be disclosed.

Center Trent Whitfield spent most of 2008-09 playing with the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL. In 69 games played, Whitfield led the team with 30 assists and 50 points, while finishing second in goals scored with 20. Whitfield played in three NHL games for the St. Louis Blues during the 2008-09 season and notched one assist.

Whitfield has played in 617 career AHL games, totaling 196 goals and 292 assists for 488 points. An AHL All-Star in 2003, Whitfield has also skated in 177 career NHL games with St. Louis, Washington and the New York Rangers, recording 11 goals and 17 assists.

The 5-foot-11, 204-pound native of Alameda, Sask., was originally drafted by Boston in the fourth round (#100 overall) of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.

Center Drew Larman has spent the last four seasons with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League. In 2008-09, he skated in 61 regular-season games potting 10 goals and registering a career-high 12 assists.

The 24-year-old Larman appeared in 213 games with Rochester, amassing 44 goals and 44 assists. Larman has played in 22 career NHL games with Florida, notching two goals and an assist.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound native of Canton, Mich., native originally signed with the Panthers as a free agent on September 28, 2005. Larman helped the London Knights (Ontario Hockey League) capture the 2005 Memorial Cup championship.

Rookie defenseman Rob Kwiet spent the 2008-09 season with the 2009 Memorial Cup champion Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. He skated in 66 regular-season games recording 12 goals and 55 assists for 67 points, which was second among team defensemen and sixth overall among OHL blueliners in scoring.

The 6-foot-1, 218-pound Toronto native added five goals and 10 assists in 20 playoff games as the Spitfires won the Memorial Cup. Kwiet, 20, participated in the 2009 Bruins Development Camp as an invite last week.

Rookie defenseman Zach McKelvie has spent the past four seasons in the NCAA playing for the Army Black Knights. In the 2008-09 season, he skated in 33 regular-season games recording five goals and 12 assists and won the prestigious Army Athletic Association Award, an honor awarded to the male and female cadets who display the "most valuable service to intercollegiate athletics during a career as a cadet."

McKelvie, 24, is the only player in school history to be a two-time Atlantic Hockey Association First-Team All Star and in the 2007-2008 season, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound native of New Brighton, Minn., was named the AHA’s Defenseman of the Year.

A four-year letterwinner, McKelvie skated in 134 games with Army, recording career totals of 14 goals and 44 assists. He attended last week’s 2009 Bruins Development Camp as an invite but did not participate in the on-ice training sessions due to injury.