Ray Whitney (ice hockey)
| Ray Whitney | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Born |
May 8, 1972 Fort Saskatchewan, AB, CAN |
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| 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 |
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| National team |
 Canada
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| NHL Draft | 23rd overall, 1991 San Jose Sharks |
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| Playing career | 1991–2014 | ||
Raymond D. "Ray" Whitney (born May 8, 1972) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was given the nickname The Wizard for his great passing and playmaking.
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 17-year career, 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).
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.
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.
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. 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.
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