“It hurt”: Vancouver-born Bruins defenceman reflects on Canucks' Stanley Cup loss
While the hatred ran deep between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins in 2011, it turns out it is possible to cross sides.
Current Bruins defenceman Parker Wotherspoon was born in Surrey, BC, and was a self-described “big” Canucks fan growing up.
“My dad has season tickets still. I was at the game back in 2011,” he explained this morning to media. “That was tough, it was weird. I remember when Boston scored the first goal and 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.”
🎥 Vancouver native Parker Wotherspoon on growing up a diehard Canucks fan: "My dad has season tickets still. I was at the game back in 2011…that was tough. I remember when Boston scored the first goal and the air went out of the building…it hurt a lot as a kid." pic.twitter.com/MmQxXtUvnZ
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 8, 2024
The pain of that big loss wasn’t enough to make Wotherspoon have any second thoughts about wearing the Bruins jersey when he joined the franchise this year, although he says some of those feelings did cross his mind.
“It was great, super special. Obviously, such a storied franchise,” the defenceman said about wearing the Bruins colours and logo. “There was little thinking about that, growing up as the opposite, but it was such a great moment for me.”
Wotherspoon has played 20 NHL games this season, recording three points in the process. He was originally selected by the New York Islanders in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft.
When it comes to the current iteration of the Canucks, the BC native had a lot of good things to say.
“Obviously, they’re a good team over there, so we know they’re going to be coming right out of the gate, so we’ve just got to be ready for them,” commented Wotherspoon.
The Canucks and Bruins face off tonight with puck drop at 4 pm PT. They sit first and second in the NHL standings, which has people excited about a potential rematch of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.