Ray Whitney (ice hockey)

Ray Whitney
Whitney with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006
Born	(1972-05-08) May 8, 1972 (age 52) Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Right
Played for	San Jose Sharks Edmonton Oilers Florida Panthers Columbus Blue Jackets Detroit Red Wings Carolina Hurricanes Phoenix Coyotes Dallas Stars
National team	Canada
NHL draft	23rd overall, 1991 San Jose Sharks
Playing career	1991–2014

Raymond D. Whitney (born May 8, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL). ^[1] He was given the nickname "The Wizard" for his passing and playmaking skills.

Whitney is considered to have been one of the most underrated players in the NHL, as his name has rarely been mentioned amongst hockey fans and writers despite his consistently high point-production throughout his entire 22-year career, ^[2] making him one of the top 65 point producers in the history of the NHL. On January 29, 2016, Whitney became the first Spokane Chiefs player to have their number retired (#14). ^[3] He won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.

Playing career

Long before Whitney played in the NHL, he and his brother Dean were stick boys for the NHL's Wayne Gretzky era Edmonton Oilers. The third stick boy with the Whitney brothers was another future NHL player, Ryan Smyth. ^[4]

During his junior career, Whitney spent three years with the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League (WHL), leading the entire league with 185 points during the 1990-91 season. Whitney and the Chiefs won the 1991 Memorial Cup as champions of the Canadian Hockey League. ^[5]

Whitney was the second player ever drafted by the San Jose Sharks, picked in the second round (23rd overall) in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Pat Falloon, his teammate with the WHL's Spokane Chiefs, was the Sharks' first pick. ^[6] The Sharks had thought the pair would be a natural scoring combination, but that didn't pan out. Whitney started his professional career in the 1991-92 season, playing with teams in the German Deutsche Eishockey Liga and the International Hockey League, as well as two games with the San Jose Sharks. He developed into a regular with San Jose over the next two seasons.

Whitney has played for several different NHL teams during his 24-year career, including the San Jose Sharks (1991–92 to 1996–97), Edmonton Oilers (1997–98), Florida Panthers (1997–98 to 2000–01), Columbus Blue Jackets (2000–01 to 2002–03), Detroit Red Wings (2003–04), Carolina Hurricanes, Phoenix Coyotes, and Dallas Stars (details below).

On August 6, 2005, Whitney signed a two-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes paying him $1.5 million per year. In his first season with the Hurricanes in 2005–06, Whitney helped Carolina win their first Stanley Cup with fellow Fort Saskatchewan native Mike Commodore. ^[7]

On February 8, 2007, Whitney scored a natural hat trick in just 1 minute and 40 seconds. ^[8]

On April 13, 2007, Whitney re-signed with the Hurricanes, agreeing to a three-year contract that pays him $3.5 million per year. ^[9]

On July 1, 2010, Whitney signed a 2-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes for $3 million per year. ^[10]

Whitney is known for his comedic tendencies for doing such things as making sure he's visible in pre-game on-screen interviews behind the interviewee, leading to the Hurricanes fans' favorite game of "Where's Whitney"? His commonly used nickname is "Wizard," which was originally given to him by former Florida Panthers play-by-play commentator Jeff Rimer.

Whitney was the last remaining member of the San Jose Sharks inaugural team (1991–92) active in the NHL until his retirement on January 21, 2015. ^[11] He was also the last remaining active player to get his start in the NHL as a member of the expansion San Jose Sharks.

On March 31, 2012, Whitney became only the 79th player in the history of the NHL to score 1,000 regular-season points, when he registered an assist in a game against the Anaheim Ducks. As of the end of the 2013-14 season, he is number 62 all time for regular-season points in the NHL.

On July 1, 2012, Whitney signed a 2-year, $9 million contract with the Dallas Stars.

On January 21, 2015, he announced his retirement as an NHL player, ending a career after producing 1,064 points (385-679) in 1,330 regular-season games. ^[12] At the time of his retirement, he was the leader in points, assists and games played for the entire 1991 NHL draft class.

Personal life

Ray and wife Brijet married in 2000 and have three children; two daughters and a son. ^{[13] [14]} He is known by his nickname "The Wizard".^{[ citation needed ]}

International play

Whitney has been a member of Team Canada at four different Ice Hockey World Championships. He made his debut at the 1998 World Championship, recording six points in seven games while Canada finished out of the medals. Whitney notched seven points in 10 games at the 1999 World Championship, again missing a medal when Canada lost in the semifinals to the Czech Republic. He joined Team Canada at the 2002 World Championship with Canada again failing to medal. At the 2010 World Championship, Whitney replaced Ryan Smyth as Canada's captain, when Smyth broke his foot early in the tournament. ^[15] Canada did not win a medal in that year's world championship.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1987–88	Fort Saskatchewan Pop Shop Selects	AMBHL		71	80	155	235	119		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Spokane Chiefs	WHL		71	17	33	50	16		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Spokane Chiefs	WHL		71	57	56	113	50		6	3	4	7	6
1990–91	Spokane Chiefs	WHL		72	67	118	185	36		15	13	18	31	12
1991–92	Kölner Haie	1.GBun		10	3	6	9	4		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	San Diego Gulls	IHL		63	36	54	90	12		4	0	0	0	0
1991–92	San Jose Sharks	NHL		2	0	3	3	0		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Kansas City Blades	IHL		46	20	33	53	14		12	5	7	12	2
1992–93	San Jose Sharks	NHL		26	4	6	10	4		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	San Jose Sharks	NHL		61	14	26	40	14		14	0	4	4	8
1994–95	San Jose Sharks	NHL		39	13	12	25	14		11	4	4	8	2
1995–96	San Jose Sharks	NHL		60	17	24	41	16		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	San Jose Sharks	NHL		12	0	2	2	4		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Kentucky Thoroughblades	AHL		9	1	7	8	2		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Utah Grizzlies	IHL		43	13	35	48	34		7	3	1	4	6
1997–98	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		9	1	3	4	0		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Florida Panthers	NHL		68	32	29	61	28		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Florida Panthers	NHL		81	26	38	64	18		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Florida Panthers	NHL		81	29	42	71	35		4	1	0	1	4
2000–01	Florida Panthers	NHL		43	10	21	31	28		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		3	0	3	3	2		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		67	21	40	61	12		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		81	24	52	76	22		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		67	14	29	43	22		12	1	3	4	4
2005–06	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		63	17	38	55	42		24	9	6	15	14
2006–07	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		81	32	51	83	46		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		66	25	36	61	30		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		82	24	53	77	32		18	3	8	11	4
2009–10	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		80	21	37	58	26		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		75	17	40	57	24		4	1	2	3	2
2011–12	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		82	24	53	77	28		16	2	5	7	10
2012–13	Dallas Stars	NHL		32	11	18	29	4		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Dallas Stars	NHL		69	9	23	32	14		5	0	0	0	0
NHL totals				1,330	385	679	1,064	465		108	21	32	53	48

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1998	Canada	WC	6th		6	4	2	6	4
1999	Canada	WC	4th		10	1	6	7	22
2002	Canada	WC	6th		7	1	3	4	2
2010	Canada	WC	7th		7	2	6	8	0
Senior totals					30	8	17	25	28

Awards and honours

Award	Year
WHL
West first All-Star team	1991
Bob Clarke Trophy	1991
Four Broncos Memorial Trophy	1991
WHL Champion	1991
Memorial Cup All-Star team	1991
Memorial Cup Most Sportsmanlike Player	1991
Memorial Cup Champion	1991
NHL
All-Star Games	2000, 2003
Stanley Cup champion	2006
Second All-Star team	2012

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 points
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

References

1. "Numbers Game: Stars Sign Veteran Scorer Ray Whitney". TSN. 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
2. "Overlooked and Underrated: Ray Whitney". The Hockey Writers. 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
3. "Spokane Chiefs Officially Retire Ray Whitney's number 14" . Retrieved January 30, 2016.
4. Cam Cole (2006-06-05). "Cup Dreams Collide". The Vancouver Sun . CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
5. "Trip down Memorial Lane: 'Scouts were high' on 1990-91 Spokane Chiefs team loaded with talent | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
6. "Curious Case of Ray Whitney". gretzky.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-30. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
7. "'The Wizard' enjoying magical run with 'Canes". Associated Press. 2006-05-16. Archived from the original on 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
8. Morgan, Craig (23 January 2015). "Ray Whitney's legacy: leadership, humor, underappreciated skill" . Retrieved 2016-07-20.
9. "Hurricanes re-sign Whitney". cbc.ca. 2007-04-13. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
10. "Vet Whitney signs 2-year deal with Coyotes". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
11. "San Jose Sharks 1991–92 roster". San Jose Sharks . 2009-07-07. Retrieved 2009-07-07.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
12. "Ray Whitney retires after 22 NHL seasons". 21 January 2015.
13. "Carolina Hurricanes 2009-10 Media Guide" (PDF). Carolina Hurricanes . January 2, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
14. "Carolina Hurricanes 2008-09 Media Guide" (PDF). Carolina Hurricanes . January 2, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
15. "Ray Whitney to Replace Ryan Smyth as Canada's Captain at 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany; Beauchemin, Perry and Stamkos to Continue as Alternate Captains". Hockey Canada. 2010-05-12. Retrieved 2010-05-12.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database , or  TSN.ca

Sporting positions
Preceded by Lyle Odelein	Columbus Blue Jackets captain 2002–03	Succeeded by Luke Richardson