Boston Bruins sign Notre Dame defenseman Drew Bavaro

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins have dipped into the college pool to land a promising young defenseman for the future. The team has signed Notre Dame's Drew Bavaro, Boston general manager Don Sweeney announced Tuesday. 

Bruins fans won't see the big blue liner in Boston anytime soon, as Bavaro will report to Providence of the AHL on an amateur tryout for the rest of the season. His deal with Boston is a one-year, entry-level contract with a cap hit of $867,500, which will kick in next season for the right-shot defenseman.

Bavaro is a big guy at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, and tallied 16 goals and 23 assists over his 72 career games for the Fighting Irish. Before he landed in South Bend, Bavaro played two seasons at Bentley University in Waltham, where he had 11 goals and 28 assists over 52 games.

While Bavaro is a Florida native, he's very familiar with New England, attending both Cardingan Mount School in New Hampshire and Lawrence Academy. Bavaro also played for the Neponset Valley River Rats for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, and had 28 points (9 goals, 19 assists) over 54 games.

Bavaro will provide some blue line depth for the P-Bruins for the rest of the season, and could potentially find his way to Boston in the coming years.