Parker Wotherspoon leaving his mark with Tri-City Americans

Parker Wotherspoon has been a constant fixture on the back end for the Tri-City Americans since he was 16 years old.

Now in his fourth season with the Americans, the 6-foot, 170-pound native of Surrey, British Columbia, is leaving his stamp as one of the top defensemen to have played for the organization.

Wotherspoon, 19, is scheduled to play his 250th Western Hockey League game Friday at Prince Albert, and he’s moving up the ranks for assists, goals and points for defensemen.

“He has meant so much to this team and this organization before I got here,” Americans coach Mike Williamson said. “Two-fifty is a lot of games. He has played a lot of minutes since he was 16. He is a leader. He is a Tri-City American through and through. He does so much, especially right now that we are thin on the back end. He is playing a ton of minutes and still competing hard and being a leader.

“He is an extremely valuable player for us.”

The Americans drafted Wotherspoon in the first round (21st overall) in the 2012 WHL bantam draft, and the New York Islanders selected him in the fourth round (112th overall) in the 2015 NHL draft.

Wotherspoon played 62 games his rookie year with Tri-City and has missed just one game the past two seasons. He has played 39 of 42 games this season, missing the first two while at the Islanders camp, and one when he traveled to play in the Canada Russia Series in November.

“It actually flies by quicker than what everybody says,” Wotherspoon said. “It’s crazy. It’s an honor to have played that many games.”

Last season, Wotherspoon had career highs for goals (11), assists (45) and points (56) while playing 71 games. For his career, he has 28 goals, 125 assists and 153 points.

He has six goals, 31 assists and 37 points this season as he climbs up the leaderboard for defensemen in all three categories.

“I’m happy with our team success so far,” Wotherspoon said of the Americans’ 22-17-3-0 record heading into Friday’s game against the Raiders. “That is the important thing. I’m not focused on points or records right now, I’m focused on winning games.”

This season, Wotherspoon already has surpassed Steve Jacques (98, 1988-90) and the late Todd Klassen (104, 1990-93) to reach third place on the assist leaderboard. He is three back of Darrell Hay (128, 1996-00) and seven behind leader Tyler Schmidt (132, 2006-11).

Wotherspoon is sixth in career goals by a defenseman. He has 28, two behind Zach Yuen and Shawn Belle (2001-05), and five back of Hay and Schmidt. Klassen leads the group with 41.

In the points department, Wotherspoon began the season with 116, and since has surpassed Yuen (119, 2008-13), Jacques (136) and Klassen (145) and sits in third place with 153. He is eight points back of Hay (161) and 12 behind leader Schmidt (165).

It’s not hard to imagine Wotherspoon being at the top of all three categories by the end of the season with the amount of ice time he gets every game, which includes double shifts and upwards of 30 minutes a game.

“Sometimes I get out there on extended shifts and I start to feel it,” he said. “I’m off for 30 seconds and I want to get back out there. That is my competitiveness. I love being that guy out there.”

Through three-plus seasons and 249 games, Wotherspoon has appreciated every day with the Americans.

“I love this organization,” he said. “They have done a lot for me. They have given me an opportunity, and I have taken it.”

This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Parker Wotherspoon leaving his mark with Tri-City Americans."