Ryan Whitney

Ryan Whitney (born February 19, 1983) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman.

He is an analyst on NHL Network and a co-host of the Barstool Sports hockey podcast Spittin' Chiclets with former NHL enforcer Paul Bissonnette.

As a youth, Whitney played in the 1997 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from the South Shore.

Whitney enrolled at Thayer Academy, a college-prep school in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1998, and logged significant playing time with their hockey team.

Head Coach Jack Foley often paired Whitney, a freshman, with senior Brooks Orpik, his future rival in college (being on separate ends of the Boston College-Boston University Rivalry), and later his teammate on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Whitney's size and skill drew the attention of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.

After initially resisting the programs invitations, he left Thayer Academy for the program, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his senior year of high school.

After graduating from high school, Whitney accepted a full scholarship to play for Boston University under Jack Parker.

Upon completing his freshman year at Boston University, Whitney was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins fifth overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

In his freshman year, he recorded 21 points in 35 games and was named to the 2002 Hockey East All-Rookie Team.

He was then selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins, as the fifth overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Upon completing his third year with Boston, he opted to forgo his senior year of college eligibility to turn professional.

He was subsequently assigned by Pittsburgh to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, for 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 professional debut in the AHL playoffs, Whitney joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the 2004–05 season.

Under head coach Michel Therrien, Whitney played in 80 games in 2004–05, recording 41 points and 101 penalty minutes.

Following three seasons with the Penguins' minor league affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Whitney played his NHL rookie season in 2005–06.

Whitney made his NHL debut with Pittsburgh in the 2005–06 NHL season, playing 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, 2005, against Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers.

Whitney finished the season with six goals and 32 assists.

In his second NHL season, Whitney emerged as a top offensive defenseman in the league with 59 points in 2006–07.

Under the guidance of new general manager Ray Shero, 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 forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and goaltender Marc-André Fleury.

During the 2007 off-season, Whitney signed a six-year, $24 million contract with a no-trade clause, avoiding his pending restricted free agency.

His offensive production dropped in the subsequent 2007–08 season, posting 40 points in 76 games.

Whitney remained in Pittsburgh for three-and-a-half seasons, helping the club to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.

However, the Penguins finished second in the Eastern Conference and Whitney contributed six points in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, as Pittsburgh made it to the Finals against the Detroit Red Wings.

Pittsburgh was defeated in game six of the series on June 4, 2008.

In the 2008 off-season, it was revealed that Whitney had been suffering from a chronic foot injury throughout the season.

It was later discovered Whitney was born with abnormally high arches (hollow foot) in both of his feet.

After an attempt using orthopedic inserts in his skates failed, Whitney underwent osteotomy, a surgical procedure to realign the bones in his left foot, on August 15, 2008.

It was expected Whitney would miss five months of the 2008–09 season.

After playing one game with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, as part of a conditioning stint, Whitney made his return to Pittsburgh, in a 2–0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, on December 23, 2008.

On February 26, 2009, Whitney was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi.

He scored one goal and five assists during the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, as the Ducks made it to game seven of the Western Conference Semi-Finals, losing to the Detroit Red Wings.

Whitney represented the United States in international competitions, winning a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

He was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 2010 after a brief stint with the Anaheim Ducks.

On March 3, 2010, Whitney was traded along with a 2010 sixth round draft pick (Brandon Davidson) to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for defenseman Ľubomír Višňovský.

On September 20, 2015, Whitney announced his retirement from professional hockey.

In 2019, New Amsterdam Vodka collaborated with Whitney to create a pink lemonade flavored vodka called Pink Whitney.