The Boston Bruins quite literally had too many healthy defenseman last season, opting to utilize a rotation of seven players following the trade deadline.
That decidedly is not the case in 2023-24.
The B’s already have outperformed expectations, but what has been even more impressive is how they’ve navigated consistent turnover on the blue line. Boston has seen Kevin Shattenkirk (five), Charlie McAvoy (eight), Derek Forbort (10) and Matt Grzelcyk (10) miss time, with the latter two currently nursing injuries.
That has forced the likes of Parker Wotherspoon and Mason Lohrei into significant playing time, with Wotherspoon earning a spot in the Bruins’ regular rotation while Forbort is on long-term injured reserve.
“I think he’s played great,” Shattenkirk said of Wotherspoon on Thursday, per team-provided video. “He’s physical and I think the coaches have really liked that about him. It’s tough for him, too, he had to come in and play on his off side a little bit. He seems to understand how we play the game here and how our systems work. He’s filling in a hole on the back end that’s tough to fill.”
Wotherspoon, despite registering just one point in six games, has been huge for the Black and Gold.
He’s taken over as a member on the Bruins’ penalty kill unit, logging over two minutes per game of shorthanded time throughout his latest stint in the NHL. He also has eight blocked shots, if you’re into logging that sort of thing.
It’s expected that Wotherspoon will stick around for a bit, especially considering that Grzelcyk is back on the shelf — though he’s considered day-to-day. That should provide the 26-year-old with an opportunity to prove he’s worth sticking around for the long haul.
