Wiste was a college hockey star at the
University of Denver, where he was named a
Western Collegiate Hockey Association First-Team All-Star and
NCAA First-Team
All-American in both 1966–67 and 1967–68. He would also lead Denver to a memorable triumph over the
University of North Dakota in the 1968 NCAA Championship game. Following his graduation, Wiste was signed as a free agent by the NHL
Chicago Black Hawks in 1968, one of three University of Denver teammates to join Chicago along with
Keith Magnuson and
Cliff Koroll. He would establish himself as a quality scorer in minor-pro, but unlike Magnuson and Koroll who both became fixtures in the Chicago lineup for more than a decade, Wiste found the adjustment to the NHL difficult, and found it hard to get icetime on a deep Black Hawk team. After a 3-game stint in Chicago in
1968–69, he spent most of the
1969–70 campaign with the Black Hawks, but was often a healthy scratch and failed to record a goal in 26 games. Exposed by Chicago in the
1970 NHL Expansion Draft, Wiste was claimed by the
Vancouver Canucks. He was a member of the inaugural Vancouver Canuck squad in
1970–71, but again struggled to produce. After recording just 1 goal and 3 points through 23 games, he was reassigned to the
Seattle Totems of the
WHL. After another season in the minors, Wiste was one of many fringe NHL players to jump to the rival upstart
World Hockey Association for the
1972–73 campaign, signing with the
Cleveland Crusaders. In Cleveland, he would experience the most successful portion of his career, recording totals of 71 and 58 points in his two years there. Wiste moved to the
Indianapolis Racers for the
1974–75 season, but slumped to totals of 13 goals and 41 points. After a poor start to the
1975–76 campaign, Wiste was assigned to the minors and would eventually retire. Wiste recorded 1 goal and 10 assists for 11 points in 52 NHL games, and added 64 goals and 108 assists for 172 points in 228 WHA contests. Wiste died in Denver at the age of 71 on January 2, 2018. ==Career statistics==