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Veteran forward Whitmore joins Royals

Veteran forward Whitmore joins Royals

Friday, August 25th

Reading, Pa. – The Reading Royals, ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, announced that the team has agreed to terms with forward Derek Whitmore.

Whitmore, who hails from Rochester, N.Y., will be entering his 10th season of professional play. Last year, he registered 15 points (6g-9a) and four penalty minutes with the Straubing Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany. That marked Whitmore’s third consecutive season in elite European leagues after spending the bulk of his first six pro seasons in the American Hockey League.

A veteran of 505 total regular-season pro games, Whitmore has registered 172 career points (95g-77a) and 107 penalty minutes in 369 regular-season AHL games with the Rochester Americans, Portland Pirates, St. John’s IceCaps, Hershey Bears and Adirondack Phantoms. Whitmore, who signed an entry level contract with the Buffalo Sabres in 2008, has also played in two NHL games, making his big league debut on Dec. 20, 2011 for the Sabres against the Ottawa Senators. That same season, Whitmore served as alternate captain for Rochester and had his most productive career goal-scoring season racking up 28 goals in 75 games for the Americans. The year prior, 2010-11, he notched a career high 47 points (27g-20a) in 80 games for the Portland Pirates, who advanced to the Atlantic Division Finals before getting knocked off by the eventual 2011 Calder Cup Champion Binghamton Senators.

Prior to turning pro, Whitmore had an outstanding collegiate career at Bowling Green State University, where he was twice named the school’s Most Valuable Player. In his junior season, he led the Falcons with 19 goals in 38 games and, in addition to being selected as the team’s MVP, was bestowed with the Dr. Ron Zwierlein Leadership Award. He followed that up with an explosive senior season, during which he served as a team captain. That year, Whitmore struck for a team-leading 27 goals in 38 games and earned a selection to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s All-Second Team. In 143 total games at BGSU, Whitmore recorded 102 points (70g-32a) and 84 penalty minutes.