The Boston Bruins have acquired a bright young defenseman for the future by reaching into the collegiate ranks. Boston general manager Don Sweeney revealed on Tuesday that the team had signed Drew Bavaro, a player from Notre Dame.
For the remainder of the season, Bavaro will report to Providence of the AHL on an amateur tryout, thus Boston Bruins fans won’t be able to witness the huge blue liner anytime soon. The right-shot defenseman’s contract with Boston is an entry-level one that has a one-year cap hit of $867,500. It will begin to play next season.
At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Bavaro is a big man who has played 72 games for the Fighting Irish and has 16 goals and 23 assists. Bavaro spent two seasons at Waltham, Massachusetts’ Bentley University, where he finished with 11 goals and 28 assists in 52 games before moving to South Bend.
Despite being from Florida, Bavaro has a strong connection to New England because he attended Lawrence Academy and Cardingan Mount School in New Hampshire. Bavaro also spent the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons as a player with the Neponset Valley River Rats, where he finished with 28 points (9 goals, 19 assists) in 54 games.
For the remainder of the season, Bavaro will provide the P-Bruins some depth on the blue line, and in the upcoming years, he might wind up in Boston.