ELMONT, N.Y. – Bernie Parent, who wore No. 1, and Mark Howe, who wore No. 2, do not just have their retired number banners sitting side-by-side in the rafters.
They were also close off the ice because they shared a deep love of fishing.
When informed of the 80-year-old Parent’s death on Sunday, Howe said the two players stayed connected long after both retired.
Reached at his home in South Jersey, Howe shared some fond memories of both fishing as well as their other other love, ice hockey.
The two Hockey Hall of Famers had a chance for a reunion at the Flyers Alumni Game. It’s been half a century since Parent led the team to a pair of Stanley Cups (1974, 1975) but the recollections remain fresh.
“He meant the world to me,” Howe said in a telephone interview. “As a kid growing up, I’ll always remember meeting or playing with other great athletes. You cherish the moment.
“I’ll never forget playing in the Alumni Game. My biggest thrill was getting to play with Bernie Parent. I told people all the time that is so cool. I’ve always revered Bernie in that way.”
Howe said their common interest in fishing was rather unique in the world of hockey and beyond.
“Of all the people in the Flyers’ organization, only two of us were diehard fishermen,” Howe said. “He always came into the locker room when I was playing.
“He would chat with the goalies and then he would beeline to me. It could have been the most important playoff game that we ever played and he would come over and say, ‘Hey, man, when does fishing start?’ That was kind of my relationship with Bernie.”
In a statement issued by the Flyers, Parent was eulogized for his contributions to the organization.
“The Flyers and Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Bernie Parent, a true legend,” the statement read. “One of the most famous and beloved players and most beloved figures in the history of the organization and the city of Philadelphia.”
Howe said he always looked forward to hanging out with Parent.
“He always had a smile on his face,” Howe said. “We would give each other a bearhug. Such a nice man.”
Parent blanked the Boston Bruins, 1-0, in the Stanley Cup-clinching win for the ’74 Cup and blanked the Buffalo Sabres, 2-0, to repeat the title in ’75.
Along the way, he won the Vezina Trophy as hockey’s best goaltender in those years.
As for his popularity across the nearly 60 years of the Flyers’ existence, only Bob Clarke comes close.
“At the Alumni Game, who got the biggest cheer?” Howe said. “It was Bernie. They’re chanting, ‘Bernie! Bernie!’ For me, the two most important players whoever played in this organization were Bob and Bernie.
“You go back at the years they won the Cups, Bernie was skilled, he was talented. Clarke was kind of the driving force in that locker room. Bernie the same.”
Ron Hextall, who many consider probably the second-best goaltender in Flyer history, said Parent set the standard between the pipes and helped him get off to a great start to his career with the run to the Cup Final in 1987.
“I came up, I was a 22-year-old rookie,” Hextall said over the phone. “To have someone like Bernie, who I grew up watching and idolized, to have him help me through the mental part of the game. . .to help you get over a rough stretch, he was such a positive influence.
“He certainly had a big impact on myself and anyone else he was with during that timeframe. There are certain people who walk into the room and they just bring energy, a positive attitude. Bernie was one of those guys. There are certain people who had a huge impact on your career and, for me, Bernie was one of those people.”
According to Howe, former Flyer defense great Joe Watson probably was on the receiving end of one of the most telling comments of those championship years and Parent’s role near the end of that Cup clincher in Buffalo in ’75.
“There were about 15 seconds left in the game,” Howe said. “Bernie calls Joe back to the net and Joe said, ‘what’s going on? What’s going on?’
“And Bernie’s like ‘where we goin’ for a beer afterward?’ He was relaxed, confident in the moment.”
That was Bernie. A serious attitude but always with a lighthearted approach.
>Clarke saddened by news
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