When most people think Carolina Hurricanes hockey, they think, “they play hockey in the south?” Then they realize that Eric Staal is the face of the team. What a lot of people don’t realize is that there is another player who usually leads the team in points year after year and that is Mighty Mouse himself, Ray Whitney.
When I first moved to North Carolina, I lived within 5 minutes of the RBC Center and would go to games all the time. I now live about 40 minutes away and don’t get to see games live as much as I would like, but I still catch every game on TV. The one player I was drawn to almost immediately was Ray Whitney. I don’t know if it was his diminutive size (he’s listed as 5-10), or his workman like attitude on the ice, but I just love watching him play.
It’s hard to believe Ray has been in the league for 18 seasons. He started his career in 1991 – 92 with a then upstart San Jose sharks team at just 19 years old. Since then he has played for the Oilers, Panthers, Blue Jackets and Red Wings, before coming to play with the Hurricanes in 2005. Since joining the Hurricanes he has been one of the leading point getters every season he has been in Carolina. Staal might be the flashy one on the team, but Whitney is the grinder who gets the tough goals, and also sets up Staal for some of his.
Earlier this season Whitney recorded his 1000th regular season game. In that time he has amassed 307 goals and 512 assists leaving him with 819 points. At 38 he will probably not crack the 1000 points list, but 900 isn’t out of the question. One of my favorite things he does is during pre-game warm ups, he is always behind the person being interviewed before the game. It’s become a pre-game tradition with my wife and I to see if we can find Whitney.
As for his cards, he has a few autographs, mostly on the Be-A-Player cards. All can be had for the 99 cent eBay minimum. Also his game used cards go for the same price. Overall, if you want to collect a player that had a very nice career, but not the accolades that should have gone with it, Ray is your man!
I played fantasy hockey for the first time a few years ago and without knowing much, I nearly shat my pants when someone drafted Ray Whitney in the early rounds.
To my surprise, apparently all he does is put points on the board.