JUSTIN WILLIAMS

'Justin Williams' (born 4 October, 1981 in Cobourg, Ontario) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who currently plays for the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL.

Contents

Playing career

Career statistics

International play

External links

Playing career

Williams was drafted 28th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, held at the Pengrowth Saddledome, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He has played 340 career NHL games, scoring 79 goals and 120 assists for 209 points.
Justin Williams played minor hockey in Port Hope, Ontario before gaining a reputation as a skilled playmaker with the Cobourg Cougars in 1998. He finished his Juniors hockey with two seasons played for the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League.
In four seasons played with the Philadelphia Flyers, Williams struggled to live up to expectations (even though he was adored by female fans everywhere), trying to adapt to the varying systems of three separate coaches, Craig Ramsey(2000), Bill Barber (2000-02), and Ken Hitchcock(2002-06). Williams was also frequently injured, perhaps hampering his development. He broke his left hand in his rookie season, and had various sprains and strains in his sophomore year. Williams suffered an injury on January 18, 2003, when he was hit low by Tampa Bay's Brad Lukowich. The hit tore Williams' ACL and MCL, and on January 23, 2003, he had surgery to repair the ligaments. Originally projected to miss 4-8 months recovering from the injury, Williams made it back into Philadelphia's lineup in just three months.
Williams was traded to Carolina on January 20, 2004, in exchange for defenseman Danny Markov. During the NHL Lockout in 2004-05, he went overseas to play for Lulea HF of the Swedish Elite League, where he posted 14 goals and 18 assists in 49 games.
Williams was signed to a one year deal with the Hurricanes for the 2005-06 season, when he set career highs in games played (82), goals(31), assists(45), points(76), and penalty minutes (60).
Williams accidentally injured popular Montreal Canadiens hockey star and team captain Saku Koivu in Game 3 of the 2006 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, for which he was villainized in some Canadian newspapers and by many NHL fans. Williams posted 7 goals and 11 assists on his way to winning the Stanley Cup. Williams scored the final goal of the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs, an empty net goal at 18:59 of the third period, as the Hurricanes defeated the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 and won the series 4-3.
On July 1, 2006, Williams signed a 5-year deal with the Hurricanes, worth $3,500,000 per season.
Williams made his first appearance in an All-Star game at the 2007 NHL All-Star game in Dallas.

Career statistics

                                  Regular Season              

Season  Team                    Lge   GP   G   A    Pts  PIM   

2000-01 Philadelphia Flyers     NHL   63   12  13   25   22   

2001-02 Philadelphia Flyers     NHL   75   17  23   40   32  

2002-03 Philadelphia Flyers     NHL   41   8   16   24   22

2003-04 Philadelphia/Carolina   NHL   79   11  33   44   64  

2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes     NHL   82   31  45   76   60

2006-07 Carolina Hurricanes     NHL   82   33  34   67   73

                   NHL Totals        422  112  164  276  273  

International play

He was a member of the 2007 Canadian IIHF World Championship team that won gold in a 4-2 win against Finland in Moscow.

External links

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