(Photo Credit: Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports)

By: Andrew Bluestein | Follow Me On X (Formerly Twitter) @adbblue

At the start of training camp for the Boston Bruins, defenseman Parker Wotherspoon was a name that most Bruins fans probably hadn’t heard before. But with injuries ravaging the Bruins Blue line through the year, Wotherspoon has found himself in the Boston lineup for five games this season.

The former New York Islanders fourth-round pick was signed to a one-year $775,000 two-way contract in the off-season. With Derek Forbort on LTIR and McAvoy missing the last four games, Wotherspoon has stepped up for the Black and Gold. 

In the first three games he played this season, his highest time on ice total was 16:28. He’s been in the lineup the last two games for the Bruins and played over 19 minutes in both. Last Friday night, he played 19:19 against his former team, the Islanders, and 19:02 against the New York Rangers on Saturday, where he was paired with Hampus Lindholm. 

The 26-year-old has only one assist for one point this season, and In 19 games this season with AHL affiliate Providence, he has one goal and four assists for five points and is even. But point production is not part of his game. He plays a really simple and solid stay-at-home style of defense.

He’s done a great job of retrieving loose pucks deep in the defensive end and moving pucks up to help exit the zone. Wotherspoon also contributes to the penalty kill, averaging 2:12 of shorthanded time on ice per game in his five appearances with Boston. 

It seems as if, for the time being, he’s now ahead of Ian Mitchell on the depth chart, as Mitchell was recently assigned to Providence. Wotherspoon is a solid option as the team’s seventh defenseman, and it’s now clear he can be plugged into the lineup and play respectable minutes in a stay-at-home role. The 6’1 left-shot defenseman has yet to have a full-time opportunity in the NHL, playing a combined 17 games in two seasons. For now, his play this season has earned him to remain up with the big club. 

It appears as if Charlie McAvoy will slot back into the lineup tonight against the Minnesota Wild. According to Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald, if McAvoy can play, Mason Lohrei will sit. That means Wotherspoon will be in the lineup for a third straight game. It would be another opportunity to build on the strong couple of games he’s played and another chance to make his case to be the Bruins’ regular seventh defenseman.