Traverse, Darche to swim with Sharks

The San Jose Sharks, parent club of the AHL’s Worcester Sharks, announced on Monday the signing of defenseman Patrick Traverse and forward Mathieu Darche to standard player contracts.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Traverse played 40 games for the Iowa Stars in 2005-06, recording three goals and 21 assists for 24 points. He also skated in one NHL game with Dallas.

In 421 career AHL games with eight clubs, Traverse has totaled 37 goals and 107 assists. He appeared in 24 games with the Sharks’ AHL predecessors in Worcester, the IceCats, during the 1996-97 season.

A Montreal native, Traverse was a third-round draft pick by Ottawa in 1992. He has played 279 career NHL games.

Darche, who spent the 2005-06 season playing in Germany, has accumulated 127 goals and 135 assists for 262 points in 360 career AHL games with Hershey, Milwaukee and Syracuse, winning a Calder Cup championship with the Admirals in 2004.

A four-time 20-goal scorer in the AHL, Darche has also played 26 NHL games, registering one goal and one assist.

Also a native of Montreal, Darche is a product of McGill University.