“I like Trent for numerous reasons,” Julien told the Boston Herald. “He’s been around the block a few times, he’s a veteran. I like his work ethic and he knows how to handle himself as far as being ready every night."
Whitfield was signed in July after spending time with the Blues, Capitals, Rangers and even more time with each respective AHL team — 617 games, to be exact. Whitfield bounced back and forth from the NHL to the AHL for almost an entire decade, although when he bounced down, he rarely bounced back up to the big stage. Such determination has been noticed by Julien, who even sees it in Whitfield's game on the ice.
"The one thing he’s got going is that he gives you an honest effort
every game he’s in there," the coach added. "We had a choice of sending him back or
keeping him. In my discussions with [general manager] Peter [Chiarelli], we decided no doubt we would like to keep him here.”
The 32-year-old has tallied five penalty minutes (fighting in his first contest) through his first two games as a member of the B's this season. He was called up from Providence after both Milan Lucic and Marc Savard were shelved with injuries and has played solid and smart fundamental hockey on Boston's third line.
“Coach wants you to play solid positionally, play the system and be real strong on faceoffs," Whitfield said. “That’s something I take a lot of pride in, but it’s in those three areas mainly, being accountable on defense and not doing anything you don’t normally do.”
