The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The Atlanta Thrashers have signed unrestricted free agent forward Anthony Stewart and unrestricted free agent defenseman Noah Welch, according to Executive Vice President and General Manager Don Waddell. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed. Stewart, 24, has recorded 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 105 career NHL games with Florida and 66 points (29 goals, 37 assists) in 130 American Hockey League games with Rochester and San Antonio. The 6-2, 240-pound center appeared in 59 games with the Florida Panthers last season, recording seven points (two goals, five assists). Prior to his professional career, the La Salle, Quebec, native played four seasons of junior hockey with Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League from 2001-02 to 2004-05. He appeared in 248 regular season games with the Frontenacs, earning 238 points (118 goals, 120 assists) and added seven points (three goals, four assists) in six OHL post-season contests. He was originally selected by Florida in the first round, 25th overall, of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Welch, 26, has seen action in 73 career NHL games with Pittsburgh, Florida and Tampa Bay, recording nine points (four goals, five assists). The 6-4, 220-pound defenseman has earned 59 points (16 goals, 43 assists) in 122 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Rochester. The Brighton, Mass., native appeared in 40 NHL games last season with Florida and Tampa Bay, recording two points (one goal, one assist) and also tallied three assists in seven AHL games with the Rochester. Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed four players to one year contracts. Per club policy, terms of the deals will not be disclosed. The 20-year-old defenseman Rob Kwiet spent the 2008-2009 season with the 2009 Memorial Cup Champion Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. He skated in 66 regular season games recording 12-55-67 totals, which was second among team defensemen and sixth overall among OHL blueliners in scoring. The 6'1" 218-pound Toronto, Ontario native added 5-10-15 totals in 20 playoff games as the Spitfires won the '09 Memorial Cup Championship. He participated in the 2009 Bruins Development Camp as an invite from July 7 - July 11 and is a Spitfires teammate of Boston's fourth round draft pick in the '09 NHL Entry Draft, Lane MacDermid. The 24-year old 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. Larman has played in 22 career NHL games with 2-1-3 totals, all with the Florida Panthers. The 6' 3" 195-pound Canton, Michigan 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 after tallying an 11-10-21 line in 58 games during the regular season and 3-4-7 totals in 18 games during the '05 playoffs. The 24-year-old defenseman Zach McKelvie has spent the past four seasons in the NCAA playing for the Army Black Knights. In the 2008-2009 season, he skated in 33 regular season games recording 5-12-17 totals and won the prestigious Army Athletic Association Award, an honor awarded to the male and female cadet who displays the "most valuable service to intercollegiate athletics during a career as a cadet." He 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 6'2" 190-pound New Brighton, Minnesota native was named the AHA's Defenseman of the Year. The Washington Capitals have signed center/right wing Boyd Gordon to a one-year contract, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. In keeping with club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Gordon, 25, completed his sixth professional season with the Capitals in 2008-09 and registered five goals and nine assists. He was third on the team with a 56.1% faceoff percentage in the regular season and led the team in the playoffs at 63.3 per cent. Gordon was also third on the team in shorthanded ice time, playing an average of 3:39 per game, and his 16 penalty minutes tied Viktor Kozlov for the fewest on the team for anyone who played more than 30 games. He had two game-winning goals and the Caps were 12-0-1 when Gordon recorded a point (5-0-0 when he scored a goal). The Unity, Saskatchewan, native was the Capitals' first-round choice, 17th overall, in the 2002 Entry Draft. He has played in 267 career games for Washington, recording 66 points (20 goals, 46 assists) and just 54 penalty minutes. He was also an integral member of the 2006 Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League, playing in all 21 playoff games. The former Red Deer Rebel won the Memorial Cup in 2000-01.
