Juha Widing Explained

Position:Centre
Shoots:Left
Height Ft:6
Height In:1
Weight Lb:190
Played For:New York Rangers
Los Angeles Kings
Cleveland Barons
Edmonton Oilers
Birth Date:July 4, 1947
Birth Place:Oulu, Finland
Death Place:Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Career Start:1967
Career End:1978

Juha Markku 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. His nicknames were "Whitey" and "Flying Finn".[1]

Playing career

Widing was born in Oulu, Finland, to a Finnish mother, Hilkka Widing . He moved to Sweden with his mother and Finland-Swedish stepfather, Yngve Widing, when he was four years old, and he received Swedish citizenship.[2] [3] 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 seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP PIMGP G A Pts PIM
1963–64GAISSWE II18 12
1964–65Brandon Wheat KingsSJHL45 23 15 38 269 3 5 8 6
1965–66Brandon Wheat KingsSJHL50 62 52 114 2911 8 14 22 4
1966–67Brandon Wheat KingsMJHL43 70 74 144 649 5 10 15 6
1967–68Omaha KnightsCHL62 27 33 60 19
1968–69Omaha KnightsCHL72 41 39 80 587 2 4 6 0
1969–70New York RangersNHL44 7 7 14 10
1969–70Los Angeles KingsNHL4 0 2 2 2
1970–71Los Angeles KingsNHL78 25 40 65 24
1971–72Los Angeles KingsNHL78 27 28 55 26
1972–73Los Angeles KingsNHL77 16 54 70 30
1973–74Los Angeles KingsNHL71 27 30 57 265 1 0 1 2
1974–75Los Angeles KingsNHL80 24 36 60 463 0 2 2 0
1975–76Los Angeles KingsNHL67 7 15 22 26
1976–77Los Angeles KingsNHL47 3 8 11 8
1976–77Cleveland BaronsNHL29 6 8 14 10
1977–78Edmonton OilersWHA71 18 24 42 8
WHA totals71 18 24 42 8
NHL totals575 144 226 370 2088 1 2 3 2

International

Awards and achievements

References

Notes

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Juha Widing . . May 23, 2024.
  2. Web site: Oulussa syntynyt Juha oli Wayne Gretzkyn lapsuuden suuri sankari ja NHL-tähti – kuoli traagisesti vain 37-vuotiaana . Knuuttila . Mikko . June 18, 2019 . . fi . September 7, 2020 . Ruotsissa, jonne hän muutti vain nelivuotiaana äitinsä Hilkan (omaa sukua Moilanen) ja Tammisaaresta kotoisin olleen isänsä Yngven.
  3. Book: Kauhala, Hannu . Kiekkoilua yli Atlantin . 2018 . . 9789513199678 . fi . September 7, 2020 . syntynyt Oulussa, mutta oli Ruotsin kansalainen vanhempien muutettua ensin Grumsiin ja sitten Göteborgiin.