Across social media, many provided their own reactions to the death of Bernie Parent.
John Buccigross, who was a longtime ESPN anchor, wrote on X that he was “absolutely terrified and was sure of defeat,” whenever his favorite team growing up faced Parent and the Flyers.
Chris Pronger, who played four seasons with the Flyers at the end of his career, but the majority of it with the St. Louis Blues, wrote on X that he got to know Parent last spring and says he “was always such a gentleman and class act.”
» READ MORE: Mike Sielski: Bernie Parent was the best of the Flyers and the best of Philadelphia. RIP.
Ryan Johnston, who is a play-by-play announcer for the Boston Bruins, wrote that the former Flyers goalie “one of the best of all time.”
» READ MORE: Numbers don’t lie: Bernie Parent’s Flyers career was one for the ages
Rueben Amaro Jr., the former Phillies general manager, wrote on social media that he “grew up idolizing [Parent].”
Howie Rose, a longtime radio broadcaster calling New York Mets, Islanders, and Rangers games for various stations, noted that along with Parent, Hall of Fame goalies Ken Dryden and Ed Giacomin have also died in recent weeks and all played in the “golden era of hockey.”
Steve Simmons, a sports columnist for the Toronto Sun, recalls deciding to go to a hockey camp because he saw Johnny Bower, the former Hall of Fame goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs, on the brochure. To his surprise, his instructor was Parent, a teenager at the time.
Dave Naylor, a sports reporter for Canadian outlet TSN, wrote on X that Parent “was my first sports hero,” and still has a coffee mug with the goaltender on it.
The NHL acknowledges Parent’s place in league history, calling him an icon in its tribute on X.
Who had more fun than Parent? “The answer is no one. Always a smile. Always a handshake. Always a thumbs-up,” hockey insider and former Daily News hockey reporter Frank Seravalli wrote on X.
And of course, we can’t forget this iconic Time Magazine cover featuring Parent in a mask that had the words “Hockey, War on Ice” written on it, as Scott Laughlin from SiriusXM NHL Network Radio pointed out.
