Thrasher center White’s numbers add up

For his encore, maybe Todd White will do Ilya Kovalchuk’s taxes.

It’s not that far-fetched an idea. White made Academic All-America in accounting and finance at Clarkson in the 1990s. He brings that approach and personality onto the ice every game for the Thrashers.

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Todd White’s 46 assists and 11 power play goals ranked him among the top 15 NHL players.

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Leave the one-on-one flair to others; White does the math. He’s always computing, always concentrating, always seeking a numerical edge. You almost expect to see him with a pencil stuck behind one ear, a calculator in one hand and a pocket protector sewn onto his uniform sweater.

While Thrashers fans continue to dream of finding a big-name, big-talent center to pair with Kovalchuk, White puts up the best numbers of his 11-season career and some of the best in the NHL for 2008-09. Through Sunday’s games, his 66 points ranked him among the league’s top 30 players, tied with Dany Heatley, one behind Vinny Lecavalier and Henrik Zetterberg, one ahead of Eric Staal, two ahead of Jason Spezza.

White’s 46 assists and 11 power play goals ranked him among the top 15 NHL players.

He’s a major reason the Thrashers have won seven of their past nine games. White’s nine-game point-scoring streak is the team’s longest this season and equals the third longest in franchise history.

He gets overshadowed by Kovalchuk’s brilliance, Bryan Little’s speed and prodigious goal-scoring, Slava Kozlov’s marksmanship and Zach Bogosian’s status as the star of tomorrow. You notice White after the fact, when the puck finds the tape of a teammate’s stick or hits the back of the net. You have to really focus on him to recognize the way he puts himself in position or to appreciate the way he sees the ice and makes the right pass.

“I try to anticipate,” White said. “I’m not skilled enough to beat guys one on one. There’s not many guys in the league that are. I try to work little give and goes. … [I] try and use smarts to get around the ice rather than pure speed and pure one-on-one ability.”

“He doesn’t try,” teammate Colby Armstrong said. “He just does it.”

Watch the game from the stands and you see five skaters on each side when teams are at even strength. Watch the game through White’s visor and you see something very different. He sees sections of the ice where there’s a defensive weakness he can exploit.

“The game becomes a bunch of 2-on-1s,” White said. “You try to outnumber guys all over the ice. You make a lot of short passes. You never have to beat somebody; the puck beats them.”

That formula has worked better than ever this season. At 33, White is playing his best hockey, earning $2.35 million and, always, using his head.

“He gets all my jokes,” Thrashers coach John Anderson said. “He’s a pretty quiet guy, but he’ll throw you zingers every once in awhile when you least expect it. You see him off the ice, he looks like a freakin’ accountant.”

If it weren’t for hockey, that’s probably what he’d be.