Ryan Whitney

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
position = Defense
shoots =
height_ft = 6
height_in = 4
weight_lb = 219
team = Pittsburgh Penguins
former_teams =
league = NHL
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1983|2|19
birth_place = Scituate, MA, USA
career_start = 2004
draft = 5th overall
draft_year = 2002
draft_team = Pittsburgh Penguins

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image_size = 250px
nickname = Whitters, Whit [cite news | last = Molinari | first=Dave |title= Oh, for good 'ol golden nicknaming days of yore | publisher = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette| url = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06302/733906-61.stm | date=2006-10-29]

Ryan Whitney (born February 19, 1983, in Scituate, Massachusetts) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman, drafted by, and currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League.

Playing career

Whitney enrolled at Thayer Academy, a college-prep school in Braintree, Massachusetts in 1998, and almost immediately logged significant playing time. Head coach Jack Foley often paired Whitney, a freshman, with senior, and future Penguins teammate, Brooks Orpik.

Whitney's size and skill drew the attention of the U.S. national team's development program. After initially resisting the programs invitations, he left Thayer for the Michigan-based program in Ann Arbor for his senior year of high school.

After graduating from high school, Whitney accepted a full scholarship to play for Jack Parker at Boston University. In his freshman year, he recorded 21 points in 35 games and was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team. He was then taken by the Pittsburgh Penguins fifth overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Upon completing his third year with Boston, Whitney made his professional debut with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Pittsburgh's American Hockey League affiliate, in the 2004 Calder Cup Playoffs. He played in 20 games, recording 10 points, however, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was defeated by the Milwaukee Admirals in the finals.

Following his debut in the AHL playoffs, Whitney joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the 2004-05 season, foregoing his fourth and final year of college hockey in Boston.Under head coach Michel Therrien, Whitney played in 80 games in 2004-05, recording 41 points and 101 penalty minutes.

In 2005-06, Whitney made his National Hockey League debut with Pittsburgh and played in 68 games. He was called up on October 31, 2005, to replace injured defenseman Dick Tarnstrom and remained on the team until the season ended. His first NHL goal came on December 1 against Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. [citeweb|title=Rangers run winning streak to six|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/games/2005-12-02-rangers-penguins_x.htm|publisher=USA Today|accessdate=2008-08-18|date=2005-12-02] He finished the season with 6 goals and 32 assists.

With an NHL season under his belt, Whitney busted out for 59 points in 2006-07. The Penguins improved from a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference the year before, to a playoff berth with Whitney part of the youth movement in Pittsburgh that included Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury.

Whitney's offensive production dropped in 2007-08, posting 40 points in 76 games. However, the Penguins finished second in the Eastern Conference and Whitney contributed 6 points in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, as Pittsburgh made it to the Finals against the Detroit Red Wings. Despite staving off elimination in game five, Pittsburgh was defeated the following game.

In the subsequent off-season, it was revealed that Whitney was suffering from a chronic foot injury throughout the season. Although correction was attempted with orthopedic inserts in his skates, he finally underwent surgery on August 15, 2008, to realign his left foot and is scheduled to be out for three to five months. [citeweb|title=Penguins' blue-liner Ryan Whitney out 3-5 months|url=http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jg7TElPUBsfhbf73UJFOYG0h90Mw|publisher=Canadian Press|accessdate=2008-08-18|date=2008-08-16]

Awards & achivements

*Hockey East All-Rookie Team - 2002

Career statistics

References

External links

* [http://www.usahockey.com/ntdp/main_site/main/ntdp/ USA Hockey National Team Development Program]
*hockeydb|63061