Ray Whitney is used to flying under the radar.
His first taste of NHL was as a stick boy for Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers alongside his brother Dean.
GettyWhitney holds the Stanley Cup aloft in 2006[/caption]
The 5ft 10in, 180lb left wing became the San Jose Sharks’ second ever pick in the 1991 Entry Draft, going 23rd overall.
When Florida Panthers claimed him off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers, he was branded the Wizard by Jeff Rimer.
“What he was able to do with the puck, I had never seen anything like that,” said Rimer, who was the Panthers’ play-by-play announcer at the time. “He had the wizardry.”
Whitney won his first and only Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and a year later scored natural hat trick in just 1 minute and 40 seconds.
He retired in 2015 with 1,064 points in 1,330 regular-season games — leading the entire 1991 class in points, assists and games played at the time.
Never the superstar but always appearing on the stat sheet, he was named of of hockey’s most under-appreciated players by The Hockey Writers in 2009.
His personality off the court earned him plenty of fans, too.
Famous for making sure he appeared in the background of pre-game interviews, Hurricanes fans used to love playing games of ‘Where’s Whitney.’
The Wizard conjured up around $46million in career earnings over 22 years in the NHL.
But he lost a large chunk after becoming embroiled in the Bear Mountain debacle.
GettyThe former Dallas Star after flew under the radar[/caption]
In total, 18 former and current players lost $13million in a proposed golf and real estate development organized by Len Barrie.
The resort in Victoria, British Columbia, was plagued by problems from the outset and saw criticizm over damage to sensitive ecosystems and historic native sites.
Barrie — a former Tampa Bay Lightning owner — stepped down, declared bankruptcy and had to give up his $14million home.
Whitney lost all $3million of his investment, per NBC Sports, but didn’t let it get him down, settling in North Carolina with his three children and wife Brijet.
Aside from a stellar career on the ice, Whitney also appeared at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Canadian golfer Graham DeLaet lost his usual caddie Jules Trudeau just before the Games.
So he called up his neighbor Whitney, who happened to be a scratch golfer.
After competing at four World Championships with Canada but not winning a medal, he had another shot in Brazil.
“I was captain of Team Canada in Germany in 2010,” Whitney said. “I’ve been there [in medal contention], been a part of all that. I hope I can help [DeLaet].
“It was great, they [top golfers] walk quicker, you’ve got to keep up, clean clubs, get the next one out.
“It was smoother than I thought it was going to be. You get a little nervous thinking about all the things you have to do.”
GettyWhitney was an underrated scorer and magician with the puck[/caption]
Unfortunately, DeLaet could only manage 20th as Englishman Justin Rose took gold.
Whitney has also caddied for seven-time women’s major winner Juli Inkster.
Appearing on the biggest stage in two sports, beloved by fans and with a Stanley Cup triumph nobody can take away from him, his talent, determination and personality have made a major loss just a blip on the radar for the family man.
