Bob Duff

Long before he was an NHLer, Ray Whitney was a stick man.

Stick boy, actually, for one of the best teams ever assembled.

Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Kevin Lowe and Glenn Anderson.

It was quite a collection.

Those legendary Edmonton Oilers got their marching orders from Glen Sather and for one memorable Stanley Cup championship season in 1987-88, their magic wands from Whitney.

Perhaps while he was laying out the lumber for the Great One, some of that greatness transferred back to Whitney.

"I never really thought about that at the time," Whitney said. "I just thought it was pretty cool that I got to see all the games for free."

A local boy from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Whitney idolized Gretzky as a youngster and grew up to live the dream, playing for the Oilers in 1997-98, years removed from their halcyon era.

Nearly a decade later, he finds himself on the precipice of his own Stanley Cup glory, with just one obstacle in his path.

The team that he worshiped as a child.

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Whitney, a 14-season right-winger with the Eastern Conference champion Carolina Hurricanes, will face the Western Conference champion Oilers and a bit of an uncomfortable feeling in the Stanley Cup finals.

You see, Whitney isn’t the only member of the family with a deep-rooted connection to the Oilers. His father Floyd, 53, has served for 25 years as the Oilers’ practice goalie, suiting up in a stall next to Hall of Famer Fuhr. The elder Whitney, an Edmonton police officer who also works security at Rexall Place, the Oilers’ home rink, stumbled into his job by accident after the team learned he’d been a goalie. Gretzky was hurt at the time and the team asked if he’d don the pads and provide the Great One with a target while he rehabbed from his injury.

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Two years ago, Floyd joined Ray as the WorldStars, a group of locked-out NHL stars, toured Europe, joining his son on the ice while making two saves and playing shutout goal for the final 2:09 of a 6-1 loss to Swedish Elite League powerhouse Farjestads.

That was a big deal, but this deal is far bigger. And quite the conundrum for the Whitneys.

"I think he'll be a man without a team," Ray Whitney said of his father. "I don't think he would be welcomed in either one of these locker rooms. It’ll be tough for him, I am sure, but something that he’ll be very excited about as well."

The younger Whitney, 34, has proven to be a welcome, albeit unheralded addition to the surprising Hurricanes.

Forwards Mark Recchi and Doug Weight, glamorous in-season acquisitions from trades, garner most of the attention among the Hurricanes newcomers. Center Weight, a former Oilers captain, works on a line with Whitney and rookie left-winger Andrew Ladd, although Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette will often double-shift team scoring leader Eric Staal in Ladd’s place, giving this unit even more potency.

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During the Eastern Conference final-clinching 4-2 win in Game 7 over the Buffalo Sabres, Whitney’s sweet pass from behind the net set up Weight for the goal which made it 2-2 just 1:34 into the third period. Whitney has produced six goals and four assists in 17 playoff games, despite battling a lingering groin problem.

"That's why these guys were brought here, to give us depth in our attack," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said. "They've done an excellent job."