Juha Widing

Juha Widing
Born	(1947-07-04)July 4, 1947 Oulu, Finland
Died	December 30, 1984(1984-12-30) (aged 37) Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	New York Rangers Los Angeles Kings Cleveland Barons Edmonton Oilers
Playing career	1967–1978

Juha Markku Widing (July 4, 1947 – December 30, 1984) was a Swedish-Finnish professional ice hockey centre and the third Finn (after Albert Pudas and Pentti Lund) to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Here he spent eight seasons, mostly with the Los Angeles Kings. His nicknames were "Whitey" and "Flying Finn".

Career

Widing was born in Oulu, Finland, to a Finnish mother, Hilkka (née Moilanen). They moved to Sweden with his Finnish-Swedish stepfather, Yngve Widing, when he was four years old, and he received Swedish citizenship. In 1964 his family moved to Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, so he could play junior ice hockey for the Brandon Wheat Kings. He played three seasons there, improving his point total each season from 38 to 114 and then finally to 144 in only a 50-game schedule. He was named to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League Second All-Star Team in 1967.

Widing joined the New York Rangers of the NHL in 1969–70, thus becoming the first mostly European-trained player with a full-time contract in the NHL. After only 44 games he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings along with Réal Lemieux for Ted Irvine. In Los Angeles he developed into a legitimate scoring threat, garnering at least 55 points in five consecutive seasons. Kings' owner Jack Kent Cooke gave him the nickname "Whitey" and instructed his announcers to pronounce his last name as "why-ding" as opposed to the real pronunciation of "vee-ding". He often played on a line with Bob Berry and Mike Corrigan known as "the hot line".

By 1976 Widing's productivity had dropped considerably, and he was traded to the Cleveland Barons the following season. In 1977–78, he played for the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association, scoring 42 points in his final professional season. Traded to the Indianapolis Racers for Bill Goldsworthy, he retired instead of playing.

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1963–64	GAIS	SWE II		18	12	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1964–65	Brandon Wheat Kings	SJHL		45	23	15	38	26		9	3	5	8	6
1965–66	Brandon Wheat Kings	SJHL		50	62	52	114	29		11	8	14	22	4
1966–67	Brandon Wheat Kings	MJHL		43	70	74	144	64		9	5	10	15	6
1967–68	Omaha Knights	CHL		62	27	33	60	19		—	—	—	—	—
1968–69	Omaha Knights	CHL		72	41	39	80	58		7	2	4	6	0
1969–70	New York Rangers	NHL		44	7	7	14	10		—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		4	0	2	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		78	25	40	65	24		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		78	27	28	55	26		—	—	—	—	—
1972–73	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		77	16	54	70	30		—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		71	27	30	57	26		5	1	0	1	2
1974–75	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		80	24	36	60	46		3	0	2	2	0
1975–76	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		67	7	15	22	26		—	—	—	—	—
1976–77	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		47	3	8	11	8		—	—	—	—	—
1976–77	Cleveland Barons	NHL		29	6	8	14	10		—	—	—	—	—
1977–78	Edmonton Oilers	WHA		71	18	24	42	8		—	—	—	—	—
WHA totals				71	18	24	42	8		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				575	144	226	370	208		8	1	2	3	2

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1976	Sweden	CC		5	1	1	2	0

Death

Widing settled in British Columbia in 1978 and died of a heart attack on December 30, 1984, aged 37.

References

• Players: The Ultimate A-Z Guide of Everyone Who Has Ever Played in the NHL by Andrew Podnieks page 907 ISBN 0-385-25999-9.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database