Juha Widing

Juha Markku Widing was a Swedish-Finnish professional ice hockey centre, born July 4, 1947, and died December 30, 1984. He was the third Finn, after Albert Pudas and Pentti Lund, to play in the National Hockey League, where he spent eight seasons, mostly with the Los Angeles Kings. He was known by the nicknames "Whitey" and "Flying Finn."

Widing was born in Oulu, Finland, to a Finnish mother, Hilkka (née Moilanen). When he was four, the family moved to Sweden with his Swedish-speaking Finnish father, Yngve Widing, and he received Swedish citizenship. In 1964 his family moved to Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, so that he could play junior ice hockey for the Brandon Wheat Kings. He played three seasons there, raising his point total each year from 38 to 114 and then to 144 in only a 50-game schedule. He was named to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League Second All-Star Team in 1967.

Widing joined the New York Rangers of the NHL in 1969–70, becoming the first mostly European-trained player to hold a full-time contract in the league. After only 44 games he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, along with Réal Lemieux, in exchange for Ted Irvine. In Los Angeles he developed into a legitimate scoring threat.