Justin Williams
(Born October 4, 1981) is a Canadian-American professional ice hockey right winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for, and served as captain of, the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and the Washington Capitals.
Williams has won the Stanley Cup three times: in 2006 with the Hurricanes and in 2012 and 2014 with the Kings. He has played nine Game 7 playoff games in his NHL career, with his team sporting an 8-1 record in these games. He currently is tied for most goals in these games with Glenn Anderson at seven, and has the outright record for most Game 7 points with 15, which has earned him the nickname "Mr. Game 7". He has also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff Most Valuable Player in 2014 with the Kings.
Williams grew up in Cobourg, Ontario, and played minor hockey in nearby Port Hope in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) before gaining a reputation as a skilled play maker with the Cobourg Cougars of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League in 1997–98. His favourite players growing up were Sergei Fedorov and Wayne Gretzky.
Williams was drafted in the sixth round, 125th overall, by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Plymouth Whalers in the 1998 OHL Priority Selection. He was signed as a 16-year-old by the Whalers and split time between the OHL club and their affiliate, the Compuware Jr. A. club of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), during the 1998–99 season. He finished his junior career with two seasons played for Plymouth.