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NHL draft tracker: Parker Wotherspoon, Tri-City Americans
It is not hard to find an accurate comparison for Tri-City Americans defenceman Parker Wotherspoon. His calm, cool and collected style of play is quite similar to how his older brother, Calgary Flames pick Tyler Wotherspoon, played the game while he was a Portland Winterhawk.
“I’m my own player, but we do have some similarities,” says Wotherspoon. “I try to be in position and be hard to play against and he played like that when he was in Portland. I guess it is expected that we would have some things similar being brothers.”
Similar to his brother, the 6-foot, 170-pound Wotherspoon is projected to be selected anywhere from high second round to high third round in the 2015 NHL entry draft. He hopes to hear his name called before the 57th selection so that he has some bragging rights as the highest drafted Wotherspoon in his family.
“I definitely want to go ahead of him,” says the 17-year-old sophomore, whom NHL Central Scouting Service ranked 46th among North American skaters in its midterm ranking. “It’s all in fun, but it would be nice get drafted sooner than he did. It is a friendly competitive relationship that we have and it would be nice to have that on him.”
The Surrey, B.C., native has asserted himself as one of the WHL’s top draft eligible blueliners largely because of how he has evolved his offensive game this season. The slick skater has jumped up into the play more often and has improved transitioning the puck out of his own zone with a strong first pass. It has shown up on his stats sheet as he has almost doubled the 18 points he posted last year with eight goals and 32 points in 58 games.
“I wanted to get more involved and jump up more in the play this year,” he says. “My confidence has helped me do that this year. I am a year older and am used to this league. It gives me the confidence to make an extra move and take my time more to find the right pass.”
Wotherspoon is fortunate not to have to go through the draft process by himself in Tri-City. His teammate, Brandon Carlo, is also touted as a top-end draft eligible rearguard. The defencemen have leaned on each for support and have a friendly competition regarding who will be chosen first in June.
“We’re really good friends and enjoy playing together,” says Wotherspoon. “It’s nice to have someone in the same situation as me and someone who I’m really good friends with. We also have a friendly competition on who will be drafted first. It’s just for fun.”
1. Do you have a favourite NHL player?
“I’ve watched (Canucks defender) Dan Hamhuis a lot and like how he plays. He plays a good defensive game and is good in the offensive end, too. I want to be a player that plays that type of game.”
2. Do you have a favourite NHL team?
“The Vancouver Canucks just because I grew up there. We had season-tickets, so I watched them a lot growing up.”
3. What arena do you look forward to playing in while the Americans are on the road?
“In Vancouver (against the Giants at Pacific Coliseum) because it’s my hometown. I get to have family and friends watch me, which is always nice.”
4. Do you have a favourite movie or TV show that you like to watch on road trips?
“Semi-Pro is my favourite movie. I’ve watched it so many times and am a big fan of Will Ferrell.”
5. If you weren’t entrenched in hockey, what other sport would you pursue?
“Probably baseball or soccer. I’d say baseball because I grew up playing it and enjoyed playing it.”
Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen
