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 "Whitey, Flying Finn" Widing (July 4, 1947 – December 30, 1984) was a Swedish-Finn professional ice hockey centre who was the third Finnish-born player (after Albert Pudas and Pentti Lund) to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Widing played in the NHL for eight seasons, mostly with the Los Angeles Kings.

Playing career

Widing was born in Oulu, Finland, to a Finnish mother, Hilkka Widing (née Moilanen). He moved to Sweden with his mother and Finland-Swedish stepfather, Yngve Widing, when he was four years old, and he received Swedish citizenship.[1][2] 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. 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. However, 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."

However, by 1976 his productivity had dropped considerably, and he was traded to the Cleveland Barons the following season. In 1977–78, Widing played for the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association, scoring 42 points in his final professional season. After the season, he was traded to the Indianapolis Racers for Bill Goldsworthy, but chose instead to retire. Widing settled in British Columbia thereafter, but died following a heart attack on December 30, 1984, aged 37.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1963–64 GAIS SWE II 1812——— —————
1964–65 Brandon Wheat Kings SJHL 4523153826 93586
1965–66 Brandon Wheat Kings SJHL 50625211429 11814224
1966–67 Brandon Wheat Kings MJHL 43707414464 9510156
1967–68 Omaha Knights CHL 6227336019 —————
1968–69 Omaha Knights CHL 7241398058 72460
1969–70 New York Rangers NHL 44771410 —————
1969–70 Los Angeles Kings NHL 40222 —————
1970–71 Los Angeles Kings NHL 7825406524 —————
1971–72 Los Angeles Kings NHL 7827285526 —————
1972–73 Los Angeles Kings NHL 7716547030 —————
1973–74 Los Angeles Kings NHL 7127305726 51012
1974–75 Los Angeles Kings NHL 8024366046 30220
1975–76 Los Angeles Kings NHL 677152226 —————
1976–77 Los Angeles Kings NHL 4738118 —————
1976–77 Cleveland Barons NHL 29681410 —————
1977–78 Edmonton Oilers WHA 711824428 —————
WHA totals 711824428 —————
NHL totals 575144226370208 81232

International

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

Awards and achievements

  • MJHL Second All-Star Team (1967)

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.

Notes

  1. ↑ Knuuttila, Mikko (June 18, 2019). "Oulussa syntynyt Juha oli Wayne Gretzkyn lapsuuden suuri sankari ja NHL-tähti – kuoli traagisesti vain 37-vuotiaana". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved September 7, 2020. Ruotsissa, jonne hän muutti vain nelivuotiaana äitinsä Hilkan (omaa sukua Moilanen) ja Tammisaaresta kotoisin olleen isänsä Yngven
  2. ↑ Kauhala, Hannu (2018). Kiekkoilua yli Atlantin (in Finnish). Tammi. ISBN 9789513199678. Retrieved September 7, 2020. syntynyt Oulussa, mutta oli Ruotsin kansalainen vanhempien muutettua ensin Grumsiin ja sitten Göteborgiin
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