Bruins’ Parker Wotherspoon has some painful memories from Bruins-Canucks rivalry

"It was a tough one. Obviously, it hurt a lot as a kid.”

Parker Wotherspoon has been a welcome addition to Boston's blue line. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

February 8, 2024

2 minutes to read

The vitriol doled out between the Bruins and Canucks during the 2011 Stanley Cup Final made for one of the most riveting playoff bouts in recent memory.

You know all of the hits by now: Alex Burrows biting Patrice Bergeron’s finger, Maxim Lapierre’s post-whistle antics, Roberto Luongo’s postgame chirps against Tim Thomas, Aaron Rome’s cheap hit on Nathan Horton, and much more.

Of course, some of that hatred has dissipated over the years.

Brad Marchand, who pestered the Canucks both on the scoresheet (five goals in seven games) and after the whistle, stands as the lone player still in Boston’s dressing room from that 2011 triumph.

But on the night where Marchand (two goals, one assist) and the Bruins stamped their names into hockey immortality at Rogers Arena, one of his future Bruins teammates was taking in the sights from the stands.

Fair to say, Parker Wotherspoon had a different response following Vancouver’s Game 7 defeat at the hands of Boston.

“I was at the game back in 2011… I just remember Game 7. … That was tough,” said Wotherspoon, who grew up in Surrey, British Columbia. “I remember when Boston scored the first goal, the air went out of the building and we knew it was over at the time. It was a tough one. Obviously, it hurt a lot as a kid.”

Thankfully, Wotherspoon and his family were not caught in the post-loss mayhem that broke out in Vancouver after Boston secured its sixth Stanley Cup title.

“Took the backroads out of there, tried to avoid the riots,” Wotherspoon said, who was 13 at the time. “That was crazy.”

Wotherspoon — who admitted that some of his favorite players growing up were Canucks stalwarts Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Dan Hamhuis, Ed Jovanovski, and Kevin Bieska — was a regular at Canucks games growing up. He noted that his family still has season tickets at Rogers Arena.

“I’d probably go to 20 games a year minimum if not more. My dad’s been a long-time season ticket holder. Still have the same four seats, same as my grandparents. They have two beside each other,” Wotherspoon said.

Even with the pain the Bruins doled out against the Wotherspoon family on June 15, 2011, the rugged Boston defenseman said he has no qualms with wearing the spoked B these days.

“Oh, it’s great. It’s super special,” Wotherspoon said of playing for Boston. “Obviously, such a storied franchise. There was a little thinking about that, for sure, growing up as the opposite [fan]. But it was just such a great moment for me.”

Wotherspoon has gone from a largely unheralded free-agent signing last summer to a key contributor on Boston’s blue line this season.

Entering Thursday’s game against Vancouver, Wotherspoon was averaging 17:20 of ice time over 20 games — adding three assists and injecting some snarl further down on the depth chart.