Ray Whitney, Ryan Smyth Sticking With It

In the 1980s Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers rewrote the NHL record book en route to a Stanley Cup dynasty. While Gretz, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri and company are long retired, did you know there are still two active players in the National Hockey League who were part of that dynasty?

In 1987 the Oilers hired three local youth hockey players to alternate as stick boys. One was none other than Ray Whitney, 15 at the time. Another was Ray's brother Dean. And the third was an 11 year old kid named Ryan Smyth. (They also worked Team Canada's 1987 Canada Cup training camp in Banff, too!)

Some 25 years later or so, Ray Whitney and Ryan Smyth are still enjoying the insider benefits of a National Hockey League dressing room. Only for much of the last 2 decades they have been playing the game. And now they are the ones signing autographs rather than collecting them.

Everyone is a Ryan Smyth fan, if not for his long and classy run as the face of the post-dynasty Oilers then for his unending devotion to Team Canada. With his jersey half tucked and his unique crossovers, his skating very much reminds me of Wayne Gretzky. That sentiment alone endears him to me, but it his energetic and fearless play that makes him so well respected. He has absorbed a lot of pain over the years by just hanging around the crease looking for deflections, rebounds and loose pucks, quietly taking whatever punishment the defense hands him. He was also a strong battler along the boards. His physical prowess underrated his puck abilities. He was very much an intelligent and poised puck mover, even under the most pressured situations.

Whitney has long thrived as wiley puck handler with tremendous poise and vision, despite his obvious lack of size. He is a shifty wizard on skates, creating space for himself expertly. He possesses a tricky shot, but he has always been primarily a playmaker. He is the last original San Jose Shark still playing. He may be best known for playing with the Carolina Hurricanes, but for 9 games in 1997 he, too, joined Ryan Smyth and skated with the Edmonton Oilers.

The Oilers waived Whitney back then, figuring he was not good enough to stick with the team at that point. This despite parts of 5 years experience with the San Jose Sharks. As disappointing as being waived must have been, it was a blessing in disguise for young Whitney. The Florida Panthers picked him up and for the next three years he was challenging 30 goals and 70 points a season.

After short but productive stays in Columbus and Detroit, Whitney landed in Carolina for five season. The undeniable highlight of that run was the 2006 Stanley Cup championship. Interestingly, Carolina met Ryan Smyth and the Edmonton Oilers in that memorable 7 game series.

It was just the latest in the intertwined lives of Whitney and Smyth. The careers of these two Oilers stick boys turned NHL stars will be coming to an end relatively soon. It has been a pleasure watching both of them.