Whitney Returns To Form

He’s the top collegiate pro prospect in the nation.

But he still takes as much joy in the New England Patriots Super Bowl win as any other kid from Scituate would.

For Boston University freshman defenseman Ryan Whitney, it has been a season of ups, downs, and finally, ups again.

The freshman has put up excellent blue line numbers, with three goals, nine assists, and a plus-15 in 23 games. But the statistics don’t tell of the roller-coaster quality to Whitney’s season.

Whitney played well in the early stages of the season, but after returning from a trip overseas to play for the United States’ national team in the prestigious World Junior Championships, something had changed.

“I wasn’t even thinking about the draft or anything like that,” Whitney said. “Then I went to the Czech Republic for the World Juniors, and over there you’re sitting on the bench, and you look across and there’s 300 black-coats, scouts. It’s almost like that tournament gets you thinking about it.”

And it showed. The freshman struggled upon his return, most noticeably in two BU losses to the University of New Hampshire, during which he repeatedly gave the puck away in his own zone and looked more jumpy than he had since coming to BU.

“I came back, I just wasn’t the same as I was before I left,” Whitney said. “I had an awful weekend against UNH, and I just didn’t feel like I was the same.”

Credit his coach, and a little self-exploration, with snapping Whitney out of it.

“I talked to coach a little bit, and he told me it doesn’t even matter,” Whitney said. “I realized he was right, and against BC I just went out and had fun. I wasn’t even worrying about a thing, and I thought I played like I had been the first half of the year.

Indeed, once he stepped on the ice against Boston College in Monday night’s first-round Beanpot win, it looked like Whitney had been playing at the FleetCenter for a long time. The looks of his play belied the butterflies the freshman had stepping out onto the ice where Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov ply their trade for the Boston Bruins.

“It was really exciting,” Whitney said. “It was tough at the beginning during warmups, because I was so nervous. I had been watching it so long; I had hoped to play in it since I had began watching it 10 years earlier. It was exciting to see everything, and to be on the pro ice.”

Just as exciting — and nervewracking — for Whitney was stepping on the ice in front of a huge crowd.

“I’d never played in front of that many people,” Whitney said. “At one point I was sitting on the bench, and I just remember looking up and seeing how many people were there and seeing where I was playing. It was pretty exciting playing where professionals play.”

The nerves weren’t showing at all in the third period, when Whitney took the puck and rushed from his blue line toward the BC net. Wristing a weak shot at the net, Whitney looked to continue around the net and head back to his own end, when luck went his way.

“I didn’t really think anything of it,” Whitney said. “I just kept going after I shot it. I was going around the net and the defenseman got the rebound. I was going towards him after he got it and I just threw my stick out there like a poke check in the defensive zone.”

From there, the puck hit either Whitney’s stick or Eagles defenseman Brett Peterson’s and bounced through the legs of a surprised Matti Kaltiainen.

“It was a little lucky bounce but it was just exciting to get a goal,” Whitney said. “It broke the tie, and it was just real exciting to score a goal, even though it was pretty lucky.”

For Whitney, it completed a dream sequence of two days, as he, like most other Sons of the Commonwealth (and the rest of New England, for that matter), was still ecstatic after the Patriots won the Super Bowl for the first time.

“It was pretty amazing when the Patriots won,” Whitney said. “I was shocked, and then having the chance to play in a big game like that the next day, it was even better, knowing that if we won that night, it would just be an unbelievable two days.”

That two days came true, and Whitney came through, reminding people why he is so highly thought of with his steady play in probably the biggest game he has played in his short college career.

While the poise he displayed on Monday night was impressive, Whitney is not shy in attributing much of his success this year to his defensive partner, senior co-captain Chris Dyment.

“He is just an unbelievable player, and on top of that, he’s a real good leader,” Whitney said. “He does a lot of talking before games, around the net. He’s helped mentally, he just tells me to make the easy plays.

“I know that once I get him the puck in our zone, it’s pretty much always getting out. He does a lot of the work. I think he makes me look a little better than I am, but I enjoy playing with him.”

While Dyment may make Whitney better, it’s clear the freshman has the physical tools to succeed at the next level. And if it’s based on early season showings, or Monday night’s performance, he has the ability to go out and play his game regardless of the rumors and reports swirling around his head. But for now, he’s not worried about that.

“I might as well have fun now, and that’s going to take care of itself,” Whitney said.