Tyler Wotherspoon (born March 12, 1993) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

for the

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wit ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) while under contract to the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was selected by the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in the second round, 57th overall, at the

2011 NHL Entry Draft The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars hoste ...

. Wotherspoon played four seasons of

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

for the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL)'s

Portland Winterhawks The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon, playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL), one of three leagues making up the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Prior to the 2021-22 season, the Winterhawks split thei ...

and was a member of the team's Western Hockey League championship team before turning professional in 2013.

Playing career

Junior

A native of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Wotherspoon was selected by the

Portland Winter Hawks The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon, playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL), one of three leagues making up the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Prior to the 2021-22 season, the Winterhawks split the ...

in the second round of the 2008

(WHL) Bantam Draft. He made his WHL debut as a 15-year-old in 2008–09, appearing in four games for Portland, then played four full seasons between 2009 and 2013. In his WHL career, he has appeared in 239 games, scored 17 goals, and scored 65 assists. With the Winterhawks, he appeared in the WHL championship series in three consecutive years as Portland lost the final in 2011 and 2012 to the

Kootenay Ice The Kootenay Ice (officially stylized as ICE) were a major junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia, and competed in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team played its home games at Western Financial Place. The franchise wa ...

and

Edmonton Oil Kings The Edmonton Oil Kings are a major junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that play in the Western Hockey League. As of July 2008, they are owned by Daryl Katz's Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers ...

, respectively, before finally winning the

Ed Chynoweth Cup The Ed Chynoweth Cup is an ice hockey club championship trophy awarded to the playoff champion of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Originally called the President's Cup when the league was founded in 1966, the trophy was renamed in 2007 to honou ...

championship in 2013 by defeating Edmonton. Wotherspoon was also named to the WHL's Western Conference second All-Star Team in 2012–13. Wotherspoon scored three points in five games at the 2013 Memorial Cup, however Portland lost the

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey L ...

(CHL) championship game, the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

, to the

Halifax Mooseheads The Halifax Mooseheads are a Canadian major junior ice hockey club in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The team was founded in 1994 and began play in the Dilio Division of the QMJHL from the ...

, 6–4. During the season, Wotherspoon was also a member of the Canadian junior team, recording two points in six games at the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Professional

The

had selected Wotherspoon with their second-round pick, 57th overall, at the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft. Flames Special Assistant to the General Manager

Craig Conroy Craig Michael Conroy (born September 4, 1971) is an American former professional ice hockey player and the current assistant general manager of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). A sixth-round selection of the Montreal Canadi ...

described Wotherspoon as a player whose qualities often go unnoticed: "If you're a stay-at-home defenceman that can join the rush, make the good first pass, doesn't get beat one-on-one, very sound, it doesn’t stand out." Upon turning professional, Wotherspoon was assigned to Calgary's

(AHL) affiliate, the

Abbotsford Heat The Abbotsford Heat were a professional ice hockey team that played five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) between 2009 and 2014. The team was based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, and played its home games at the 7,046-seat A ...

, for the 2013–14 season. He had nine points in his first 48 games and a plus-minus of +13 when an injury to

Dennis Wideman Dennis Earl Wideman (born March 20, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Wideman was drafted in the eighth round, 241st overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2002 NHL Entry ...

late in the season caused the Flames to recall Wotherspoon on an emergency basis. He made his NHL debut on March 7, 2014, a 4–3 victory over the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

. He recorded his first point the following night with an assist on a

Brian McGrattan Brian McGrattan (born September 2, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current member of the Calgary Flames player development staff. McGrattan was a fourth-round selection of the Los Angeles Kings (104th overall) at ...

goal in a contest against the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

. Wotherspoon appeared in 14 games with the Flames, recording four assists, before suffering a shoulder injury that required surgery and ended his season. Wotherspoon has been recalled and sent down by the Flames multiple times during the 2015-16 season. On September 5, 2017, the Flames re-signed Wotherspoon to a one-year, two-way contract worth $650,000. After five seasons within the Flames organization, Wotherspoon left as a free agent to sign a one-year, two-way contract with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

on July 1, 2018. On July 1, 2019, Wotherspoon was signed to a two-year, two-way contract with the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

. On September 14, 2021, Wotherspoon was signed to a professional tryout contract (PTO) by the

. After participating in training camp and pre-season, Wotherspoon was released from his tryout and signed to a one-year deal with AHL affiliate, the

on October 13, 2021. Following a successful season with the Comets, on the opening day of free agency, Wotherspoon was signed to a two-year, two-way contract by the New Jersey Devils to continue within the organization on July 13, 2022.

International play

In January 2022, Wotherspoon was selected to play for Team Canada at the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...

Personal life

Wotherspoon is the brother of Parker Wotherspoon, who was drafted 112th overall by the

in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wotherspoon, Tyler 1993 births Living people Abbotsford Heat players Adirondack Flames players Calgary Flames draft picks Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from British Columbia Lehigh Valley Phantoms players Portland Winterhawks players San Antonio Rampage players Sportspeople from Surrey, British Columbia Stockton Heat players Utica Comets players Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players for Canada