Flames Summon Tyler Wotherspoon from Stockton

In Saturday’s game with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary Flames defender Jakub Nakladal left mid-way through the second period after getting a stick under his visor and reportedly suffered some damage to his right eye.

While the extent of the damage is (obviously) unknown, it appears that he’ll miss some time, as the Flames have recalled Tyler Wotherspoon from the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat (according to the AHL site’s handy transactions page). Presumably the recall is on an emergency basis and he’ll return to the AHL once Nakladal is good to go.

Wotherspoon, 22, was previously brought up a few weeks ago and played extensively with Nakladal on the third pairing. However, he was the victim of the NHL’s weird emergency recall rules, and was sent back to Stockton when the Flames acquired Jyrki Jokipakka. (His recall at the time was tied to the Flames not having enough available blueliners.) He played six games with the Flames this season, amassing zero points and a plus-two rating.

Now in the third season of his pro career, Wotherspoon has played 21 games with the Flames and has four assists. He’ll be waiver-eligible next summer, so he gets another shot to prove that he belongs at the NHL level – albeit likely a short-term shot, as he’s up on yet another emergency recall.