Born	February 19, 1983 (1983-02-19) (age 26), Scituate, MA, USA
Height Weight	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 219 lb (99 kg; 15 st 9 lb)
Position	Defense
NHL team F. teams	Anaheim Ducks Pittsburgh Penguins
NHL Draft	5th overall, 2002 Pittsburgh Penguins
Pro career	2004 – present

Ryan Whitney (born February 19, 1983 in Scituate, Massachusetts), is an American professional ice hockey defenseman playing for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Awards and achievements 3 Career statistics 4 References 5 External links

[edit] 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 Tärnström 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.^[1] 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-André 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 underwent surgery on August 15, 2008 to realign his left foot.

On February 26, 2009, Whitney was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi.^[2] He scored a goal to go with five assists during the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Ducks made it to Game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals, losing to the Detroit Red Wings.

[edit] Awards and achievements

• Hockey East All-Rookie Team - 2002

[edit] Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999–00	Thayer Academy	ISL		22	5	33	38	-		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	USNTDP	U18		40	7	23	30	64		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	USNTDP	USHL		20	2	8	10	22		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Boston University	HE		35	4	17	21	46		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Boston University	HE		34	3	10	13	48		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Boston University	HE		38	9	16	25	56		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		—	—	—	—	—		20	1	9	10	0
2004–05	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		80	6	35	41	101		11	2	7	9	12
2005–06	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		9	5	9	14	6		11	1	4	5	8
2005–06	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		68	6	32	38	85		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		81	14	45	59	77		5	1	1	2	6
2007–08	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		76	12	28	40	45		20	1	5	6	25
2008–09	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		1	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		28	2	11	13	16		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		20	0	10	10	12		13	1	5	6	9
NHL totals				273	34	126	160	235		38	3	11	14	40

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• USA Hockey National Team Development Program
• Ryan Whitney's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

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