Mike Richter got emotional on the other end of the phone.
Although he made his mark in the NHL as a goalie for the New York Rangers, Richter is a Philly guy at heart, and the passing of Bernie Parent hit close to home.
“You always, always walked away feeling great about yourself and life around that guy. … You can’t have enough good people like that in your life. And I was lucky to have met him and known him. But he will be,” Richter said, pausing to collect himself on the phone, “he will be missed.”
Growing up in Flourtown in the 1970s, Richter, who turned 59 on Monday, would pretend to be Parent, sporting the No. 1 Flyers jersey, whether it was on the ice or in his parents’ driveway, playing street hockey with his brother, Joseph. He had pictures of the two-time Stanley Cup champion on his walls, and he and Joseph would take their own pictures whenever they could, hoping the film would develop properly.
» READ MORE: Bernie Parent was the best of the Flyers and the best of Philadelphia. RIP.
“Such a loss,” Richter said. “He was brilliant on the ice. He really was just such a big-game player, had his fundamentals so locked down, and really was the best in the business for a while there in Philadelphia. When that team needed just perfection in goal, he gave it.”
There is no denying Parent’s connection to the area. Always seen smiling, showing off those two Stanley Cup rings from 1974 and 1975, and posing with fans, there “couldn’t be a better ambassador for Philadelphia and hockey in general,” as Richter said.
But for Richter, while he appreciated the everything that was Parent, he was focused on watching and copying the Hall of Fame goalie. So, he went to his hockey school as a kid, learning from the master himself.
“You couldn’t help but want to emulate him. When he came to Philly, early ’70s, my God, every kid out there was imitating his style,” said Richter, noting Parent’s French Canadian style. “And of course, it was all his own, but he had such good fundamentals. My brother and I were playing goal, and it’s just such a lucky moment to be a goaltender in the Philly area.
“You got to watch this guy every night, how he reacted, how he approached the game. And, you know, back then a pure stand-up goalie who played the angles perfectly. I mean, he really mastered the craft and gave you a kind of blueprint for what was effective.”
The blueprint, laid out in front of him, worked as the student became one of the game’s best netminders. Richter left the area to tend the twine at the University of Wisconsin, and today, the trophy handed out to NCAA Division I men’s hockey’s most outstanding goaltender bears his name.
And while the majority of Pennsylvanians who have played at least one NHL game hail from out west, Richter is easily the best from the east. Like Parent, his career was shortened by injury, but the Flourtown native’s 301 career wins rank seventh among American-born netminders, despite playing fewer games than the guys above him except for current NHLer Connor Hellebuyck.
Maybe it was watching Parent “set the mark for excellence between the pipes.” Maybe it was trying to copy his style — from the fundamentals to the equipment.
“Bourdon pads, [which] was French Canadian. I got a blocker, that was the same thing. Used to wear the GM 12 Cooper gloves. Everybody had the street hockey mask, and back then, had a hard time getting masks done,” said Richter, who is famously known for his Statue of Liberty Rangers mask. “But I had some crappy one made. … But it didn’t matter, it looked like Bernie’s.”
» READ MORE: Bernie Parent, legendary Flyers goalie who brought Philadelphia its only two Stanley Cups, has died at 80
It’s been a tough month for the goalie union, with three Hall of Famers — and generational goalies — dying in September. Former Montreal Canadiens goalie Ken Dryden died on Sept. 5; Eddie Giacomin, whom Richter passed on the all-time wins list for New York before he was supplanted by Henrik Lundqvist, on Sept. 14; and now Parent.
“Brilliant players, all of them, very much, all their own styles,” Richter said. “But Bernie, Bernie had that cool factor that was unlike anything else. And yeah, I followed his every move. … He was something else. You know, his career was cut short from an injury, and I never — there was nothing other than joy coming out of him.
“He was always a quick laugh, and supportive, words of encouragement, always. And yeah, I just, I thought he was a real gift to any little guy that wants to play goalie around Philly — and truly, anybody who liked the game. He was awesome to watch.”
As Richter said, “He was the whole package.”