Toggle sidebar

LD Parker Wotherspoon - Tri-City Americans, WHL (2015, 112th, NYI)

  • Xenforo Cloud has upgraded us to version 2.3.6. Please report any issues you experience.
  • We are currently aware of "log in/security error" issues that are affecting some users. We apologize and ask for your patience as we try to get these issues fixed.
R S

R S

Registered User
Sep 18, 2006
25,466
10
Kid deserves a thread.

Very calm, smooth and poised defenceman. Skates very well, moves the puck and likes to join/lead the rush. Won't have you on the edge of your seat, but does a lot of things well. He's got a high level of hockey IQ and can play in all situations. He's only 6'0, 170 right now, which is a bit unfortunate. If he was 6'2 I bet he'd be getting a lot more pub. He's the brother of Flames prospect Tyler Wotherspoon.

I bet some teams have him ranked inside their 1st round, just because he does so many things well.

Hard to say where he'll end up on my draft board, but I can safely say in most years he would be an easy top 45 selection at this rate.
 
I really like Wotherspoon's game. It reminds me alot like Duncan Keith, I think we'll see him rise this year.
 
Bumped with a piece I just did on him and Carlo.

Sophomore Tri-City Americans defencemen Brandon Carlo and Parker Wotherspoon both appear to be well on their way to being high drafts picks in the 2015 NHL Draft. And while they have this road and life goal in common they’re nearly opposites in every other capacity, starting with their passports.

Carlo is an American from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Wotherspoon is a Canadian from Surrey, British Columbia.

Carlo is 6’5 and plays a mean and aggressive style of hockey. Wotherspoon is 6’0 tall and not even 175 pounds, opting to play a smooth and cerebral style of game.

Carlo is one of the older players available for the 2015 NHL Draft as a late-1996. Wotherspoon is one of the youngest of the class, being only three weeks away from being eligible for the 2016 NHL Draft.

Carlo is right-handed while Wotherspoon is a lefty.

Despite all these differences each player has played their way into discussions, making a name for themselves among NHL teams.


Carlo is currently enjoying time as an alternate captain for the Americans. As mentioned, he’s a mass of humanity at 6’5 and over 200 pounds. While not necessarily an offensive juggernaut, he skates very well for his size, likes to get up into the rush, shoots the puck well and is always a thorn in the side of the opposition. His style of game actually reminds me a bit of Colorado Avalanche defender and former 1st overall pick Erik Johnson. He’s put up a point every two games so far this WHL season and while it’s early, it’s a nice jump in production when compared to his rookie season.

He also had a strong showing earlier this fall at the All-American Prospects Game in Buffalo, skating alongside the likes of Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin and the rest of the top American-born prospects for the 2015 NHL Draft. He put up a pair of assists in that game as he was on the winning side of a 6-3 decision for Team Grier. To go along with all of that, I think with his combination of size and skill will allow him to step into the NHL game sooner than some of the other players picked in his range of the draft.
Click to expand...

The rest==> http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2014/10/carlo-and-wotherspoon-provide-best-of.html
 
Stylistically, I think he plays a lot like Tyler does. Very similar players.

I wonder which one ends up the better player. They're both very underrated IMO.
 
Sean Monahan said:
possibly this year's Ben Thomas and Travis Sanheim?
Click to expand...

You could probably say that. Although I'm not sure how much Sanheim-Thomas played together. Because at this point Carlo and Wotherspoon don't seem to be on the ice all that often together.

As far as draft position goes, could be similar too. Carlo likely has a better chance at being a 1st while Wotherspoon could end up being a 2nd or maybe even a 3rd.
 
I would love to add Parker Wotherspoon to our collection, if he's anything like his bro, I'd be pleased.
 
I'd take him early 2nd and I wouldn't be suprised if he went in the 1st round. Just smooth, smart and a wonderful skater. He can keep defenders outside with a good stick and his skating ability. I like his decision making and he has a good first pass out of the zone.
 
Been keeping my eye on him quite a bit, and with Calgary having three 2nd round picks this draft and his brother in our organization, I really hope he stays in that 2nd round area
 
He really hasn't got much public buzz this year so I do wonder how NHL teams are valuing him. I know he's a 2nd rounder on Button's list but he's not super high on CS' midterm list (46 among NA skaters) and wasn't included at all in McKenzie's midterm top 60.

I still think he's a 2nd round guy but wouldn't be shocked if he fell to the 3rd.
 
R S said:
He really hasn't got much public buzz this year so I do wonder how NHL teams are valuing him. I know he's a 2nd rounder on Button's list but he's not super high on CS' midterm list (46 among NA skaters) and wasn't included at all in McKenzie's midterm top 60.

I still think he's a 2nd round guy but wouldn't be shocked if he fell to the 3rd.
Click to expand...

How does Wotherspoon compare to other d-men around the same range (2nd to 3rd round)? I'm talking about guys like Spencer, Juulsen, Andersson, Dunn, Brisebois maybe Guhle but iirc you have him quite low.
 
Specifically, what is his offensive upside?

does he have nhl pp qb ability?
 
Zaddy Zads said:
How does Wotherspoon compare to other d-men around the same range (2nd to 3rd round)? I'm talking about guys like Spencer, Juulsen, Andersson, Dunn, Brisebois maybe Guhle but iirc you have him quite low.
Click to expand...

Hard for me to comment on non-WHL guys as I don't tend to float opinions on guys I don't see live. As for the WHL guys you mention I have him ranked behind Juulsen but ahead of Guhle. Not crazy to think that many people like Guhle more than him, though.

ahmon said:
Specifically, what is his offensive upside?

does he have nhl pp qb ability?
Click to expand...

Yes, I believe so. For surely on a 2nd unit.

I think he has 40 point NHL potential but is more likely to be a comfortable 30 point type of guy.
 
I have him as the #2 WHL defender. Smart, skilled, mobile, competitive. Only real weakness is his lack of bulk and strength, but when you look at his brother it seems he has the bloodlines to fill out.
 
Sits 9th on my final list of WHL players for 2015: http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2015/05/final-whl-rankings-2015-nhl-draft.html

#9 Parker Wotherspoon

Team: Tri-City Americans
Position: D
Shoots: L
Height: 6’0.25
Weight: 171
GP: 72
Goals: 9
Assists: 33
Points: 42
Pts/Gm: 0.58
PIM: 93

Player Analysis: Parker Wotherspoon is a smooth-skating blueliner for the Tri-City Americans…owns an extremely powerful and composed stride…wouldn’t consider him to be an “effortless” skater, but it is close…his strong edges allow for quick acceleration and power, which in turn generate above-average top speed…owns good hip and foot action which aids him greatly in defending against the rush…backwards stride isn’t quite as powerful or dynamic as his forward stride and would be an area needing to show some growth to excel similarly at the next level…passes the puck hard and accurately on a consistent basis…does seem to force pucks into bad spots from time to time and does skate himself into trouble here and there…essentially, he could clean up some of his decision-making processes when the puck is on his tape…uses his good skating stride to push the pace and get up into the rush…receives a pass very well and can receive and shoot in the same motion…wrist shot is hard…is more of a puck mover than puck shooter but his shot is quite good especially due to his release…plays a rather smart and composed style on defence…strong stride aids him in his gap control…good footwork and stick placement allows him to excel both while defending the rush and the cycle…picks his spots well when it comes to when he engages physically…isn’t a crushing physical player but has shown a temper at times this year and isn’t afraid to drop the gloves when things get overly heated…I do wish he was a bit bigger as added length and mass would help add that extra dimension to his game, including making him harder to play against in general…overall consistency to his game, especially on the defensive side of the puck, is an area to improve…his game can be a tad “vanilla” at times, but I think that is partially due to just how well-rounded he is with no pure standout traits aside from his skating stride…was a regular both on the powerplay and penalty kill for the Americans this season…spent nearly the entire second half of the season on a defensive pairing with Justin Hamonic…his older (and larger) brother Tyler was a 2nd round pick of the Calgary Flames in 2011…a guy like Trevor Daley is probably not a bad comparable for Wotherspoon, at least style-wise…showed remarkable offensive consistency through the year by putting up 21 points in his first 36 games and 21 points in his next 36 games as he dressed in every one of the Americans 72 regular season games…finished T-6th among all first-year draft-eligible WHL defenceman in goals with 9 and also in primary assists with 15…his 42 points were 4th best among all first-year draft-eligible WHL defenders, as was his PPG rate…pushed the pace for his team, either scoring or assisting on 22.58% of all Americans goals during the regular season, the 2nd best percentage of any first-year draft-eligible WHL defenceman…scored 4.84% of their goals, trailing only Ethan Bear and Ivan Provorov in that area relative to each player’s own team…his even-strength PPG rate of 0.35 was 4th best among all first-year draft-eligible WHL defenders…was a 1st round pick, 21st overall, by the Tri-City Americans at the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft…overall I think that at his peak Wotherspoon projects as a middle pairing defender at the NHL level who shouldn’t be a liability in one particular area of the game…if his game doesn’t fully bloom to that level, he would be an ideal #6 style of defender due to his ability to move the puck and not be a complete liability on defence…all season I have felt I have valued him more than many of the “consensus” rankings out there so I’ll be intrigued to see when his name gets called…I expect him to come off the board some time before the middle of the 3rd round even though I likely value him more as a top 50 type of guy…
 
Drafted by the Isles in the 4th round of this years draft. He seems to be the forgotten draftee of our class and was hoping to get some more scouting reports from anyone who watches the WHL and Tri Cities particularly. Any and all info is appreciated
 
5th in D scoring in the WHL and 3rd in team scoring, but how is he playing?

Does he look any stronger? I know that is something he needs to improve on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Ad

Ad

Top Bottom