Trenton Grant Whitfield (born June 17, 1977) is a Canadian former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricit ...

Playing career

Whitfield was drafted in the fourth round, 100th overall, by the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

in the

1996 NHL Entry Draft The 1996 NHL Entry Draft was the 34th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 22, 1996. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Zdeno Chára, who retired after the 2021–22 season. ...

. He refused to sign with Boston, and returned to Spokane until signing a minor league contract with Washington. On August 2, 2005, Whitfield signed with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

for the 2005–06 season. After playing in 30 games with the Blues, Whitfield was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the

Peoria Rivermen Peoria Rivermen is the name of four minor league hockey clubs: * Peoria Rivermen (IHL), named as such 1984–1996, formerly the Peoria Prancers 1982–1984 * Peoria Rivermen (ECHL), 1996–2005 * Peoria Rivermen (AHL), 2005–2013 * Peoria Rivermen ...

. Whitfield spent the next three seasons with the Rivermen, relied upon as captain and establishing himself as an elite player in the AHL. He was recalled by the Blues, playing against the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (N ...

, at St. Louis on January 15, 2009, in his first NHL game since 2006. On July 13, 2009, Whitfield signed a two-year contract with the Boston Bruins, returning to the team by which he was drafted. Added as depth to the Bruins forwards, the veteran was assigned to captain Boston's AHL affiliate, the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R ...

, to begin the 2009–10. On October 21, 2009, Whitfield was recalled and made his debut with Boston against the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

. He totaled 16 games over the course of the season with the Bruins and scored 43 points in 52 games with the P-Bruins before making his playoff debut with Boston in four games against the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wel ...

Prior to his second year with the Bruins on August 22, 2010, it was announced that Whitfield had torn his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

and would likely miss the entirety of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

season. Whitfield recovered from his injuries and played 45 games in the minors for Providence. He was called as a spare for Boston in March 2011. When Boston won the Stanley Cup in June 2011, Whitefield was included on the official team picture, and later awarded a Stanley Cup ring. However, since he only played in the minors, his name could not be included on the Stanley Cup. On July 1, 2011, Whitfield re-signed to a two-year contract with the Boston Bruins. On August 22, 2013, after 15 seasons of professional hockey in North America, Whitfield signed his first European contract on a one-year deal with Italian club, HC Bolzano in their inaugural season in the Austrian Hockey League. He played one season with Bolzano, before retiring from his playing career.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, Trent 1977 births Living people Bolzano HC players Boston Bruins draft picks Boston Bruins players Canadian ice hockey centres Hampton Roads Admirals players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan New York Rangers players People from Estevan Peoria Rivermen (AHL) players Portland Pirates players Providence Bruins players St. Louis Blues players Spokane Chiefs players Washington Capitals players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States