Flames D-man strutted his stuff
Tyler Wotherspoon was bubbling with excitement and talking a mile a minute on Thursday, following Hockey Canada’s official announcement of the 2013 world junior team.
Like it was for most players, this week’s selection camp was a whirlwind for the Portland Winterhawks defenceman and 2011 Calgary Flames draft pick.
“It happened so fast,” said the Surrey, B.C., native. “It seemed like such a long wait. Right now, I’m just trying to take it all in.
“I’m so happy right now. I called my mom. My dad’s here so I got to see him. My sister called me. My agent called me. It was quite a busy day for the phone.” And it’s easy to see why. Wotherspoon, who was focusing on improving his two-way game heading into the 2012-13 Western Hockey League season, has still managed three goals and 23 points in 29 games while leading the Hawks with a whopping plus34 rating. The Flames’ secondround pick of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft (54th overall) impressed Hockey Canada in a short period of time during the camp. He wasn’t on the Canadian roster that travelled to Russia this summer for a four-game series and trial-run overseas. And he only played one of two games for Team WHL against the Russians in November’s Subway Super Series.
But he kept his game reliable, steady, and convinced Team Canada brass he deserved one of the seven roster spots reserved for defencemen.
“I was pretty happy with the way I played,” said Wotherspoon, who saw his Portland Winterhawks teammate and defenceman Derrick Pouliot sent home as one of the first cuts Wednesday. “I was pretty comfortable. I thought (Thursday’s 2-0 win over the CIS players) was my best game.
“I was pretty confident (going into the final cuts Thursday), but I didn’t know what could happen. It was a long wait but I’m really happy about it.”