Quote:
Originally Posted by StrykerSteve
The Flames desperately need a better 5-6 defensive pairing. Through 51 games this season, Wotherspoon is a +53. He has recorded 35 points (6 g, 29 a) in that span. And like you mentioned, he played really well at the World Juniors.
I don't see any reason he couldn't make the jump to the bigs next year.
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There are 3 defensemen from his draft year in the NHL right now and 3 from the draft before.
Playing in the NHL as a defenseman as a 20 year old is a very rare thing and Wotherspoon doesn't seem to be close to that elite level.
The 2009 draft is where you see the guys that have played more games and for a lot of them they are only now starting to be real contributors. So you probably want to wait at least 3 years after the draft before expecting a defenseman to play and that is for the top guys.
At this point Wohterspoon looks far from a lock to be an NHL defenseman so rushing him in next season seems like a bad idea.