The Ryan Whitney Era at Boston University is no more. The junior defenseman told me last night in an exclusive interview that he is signing a multi-year (and no doubt, multi-million dollar) deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League.
“I decided it was time to chase my dream,” Whitney said. “I thought this was the time to move on. Even though I loved my time here at BU, I think this is the right decision for me to make.”
Whitney said the practicality of the move fueled his decision.
“It’s a lot of money – I can’t turn that down,” the 21-year-old Scituate native said. “I’m gonna be financially stable for a long time.”
This past season was Whitney’s best in a BU uniform. He led the squad in scoring, with nine goals and 16 assists. After a tough sophomore campaign, Whitney showed Terrier Nation what all the hype had been about. A slick-skating blueliner, Whitney was the main cog in BU’s power play, often skating for the majority of the man advantage.
Whitney was drafted in 2002 in the first round by Pittsburgh with the fifth overall pick. His size (6 foot 4 inches, just over 200 pounds), skill with the puck and skating ability made Whitney a coveted pick in that draft. Add to that his continued improvement in his own end, and Whitney has all the things coveted in an NHL blueliner.
While he had an impressive freshman campaign and showed signs of his skill at the end of his sophomore year, Whitney put the pieces together, becoming arguably BU’s most valuable player during a tough year that saw BU finish eighth in Hockey East. His departure will be a tough blow to a team trying to return the Terriers to their normal place as one of the top programs in the nation.
While the Penguins have struggled mightily this season, they have a bright future. Their young core of players includes rookie star Ryan Malone and the first overall pick of the 2003 draft, can’t-miss goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. If the Penguins win the draft lottery this year, they will be able to grab Russian phenom Alexander Ovechkin and may be a team to beat in the not-so-distant future.
While Whitney was at first complimentary of his teammates, he confessed that the chemistry of his team was a major factor in his decision to head to the Steel City.
“I really don’t like many of the guys,” Whitney said. “There are a lot of kids who really piss me off.”
Nonetheless, Whitney’s loss will be felt acutely by the Terriers. While they can move Bryan Miller back to defense, to lose their best scorer from the back (and this year, from the front, too) throws a wrench in the power play and penalty kill. On a team that struggled mightily to score, losing nine goals and a lot of helpers is a major concern. While a talented freshman class, including a guy named Bourque, a guy named Boomer, a guy from Moose Jaw and about 14 guys whose name begin with “Mc,” is coming in to help open Agganis Arena next year, a guy named Ryan Whitney is not going to be joining them.
Whitney stressed that the majority of his college career was “incredible,” and said he had just one message for BU’s loyal fans.
“April Fools,” Whitney said.
That’s right – it’s not true, kiddies, although Ryan stressed that he hasn’t made a decision on where he’ll be playing his trade next year. So as much as I’d like to tell you that this is unequivocally not happening, there are still decisions to be made.
Just Because I Can
Sorry if any of you had heart attacks over that little section. Just to absolve Ryan of any – OK, most – of the guilt, that was my idea, he just played along … On a related note, I’m now a vegetarian, a Yankee fan and a big supporter of top-40 music … Terriers in the pros: Big congrats to Mike Pandolfo, a former BU captain who played two games for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the last week, and Gregg Johnson, who made his pro debut with the Binghamton Senators. Meanwhile, Frederick Augustus Meyer IV has scored 11 goals and added 14 assists for the Philly Phantoms, and currently has 40 penalty minutes. Meyer also made his NHL debut with a the Flyers while we were all away at Spring Break … Go UConn … Joe Thornton can put more on a puck with less effort than I can comprehend. His wrister against Carolina on Tuesday night was a thing of beauty … Opening Day is less than a week away, Red Sox Nation. Sweeeet.
Nick Cardamone, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, is a weekly sports columnist for The Daily Free Press.