Underrated NHL ‘wizard’ lost everything in $13million investment before caddying at Olympics

Ray Whitney went from acting as a stick boy for Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers to caddying at the Olympics vis the NHL.

He grew up in a hockey-mad family alongside his brother Dean and managed to.

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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 a 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.

Whitney’s personality off the court earned him plenty of fans.

Famous for making sure he appeared in the background of pre-game interviews, Hurricanes fans used to love playing games of ‘Where’s Whitney.’

Whitney has since moved into the front office, working with the Hurricanes’ scouting staff for three years.

He was also part of the management group for Canada’s 2022 Spengler Cup team and coached his son Hudson with the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes.

The former NHL star’s name cropped up as the Vancouver Canucks search for a new GM.

“Definitely hearing Ray Whitney’s name a lot in the last 24 hours connected to Vancouver,” revealed Rick Dhaliwal in April.

Unfortunately, he appears to have been left off the three-man shortlist for final interviews with Evan Gold the frontrunner.

How much money did Ray Whitney lose?

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.

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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.

Ray Whitney’s brief gold career

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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.”

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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.