Teams around NHL give out unique prize for great play in victories
© Philadelphia Flyers
Welcome to Star Wears, where our Short Shifts team will highlight each NHL team’s unique and creative way to honor their player of the game after each victory, handing them a token of appreciation that usually lasts at least one season, and sometimes takes on a life of its own.
Team: Philadelphia Flyers
Item: Bernie Parent-style goalie mask
Origin Story: The Flyers decided to pay tribute to their late legend this season. Parent, a two-time Stanley Cup champion and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, died at age 80 on Sept. 21, just about two weeks before the start of this NHL season.
City/Team Connection (dubious or otherwise): Parent was not only author of some of the greatest seasons by a goalie in NHL history, but a beloved figure in Philadelphia and around the League due to his bright personality. The iconic mask, an old school-looking, fully white helmet complete with a point at the chin and three Flyers logos, one on the forehead and one on each side, is easily identifiable with him. He even wore it during the Alumni Game one day before the 2012 Winter Classic held at Citizens Bank Park.
Fun Fact: Parent was the goalie for the only two titles in Flyers history and won back-to-back Vezina and Conn Smythe trophies in 1974 and 1975. Also, Parent is a native of Montreal, so it’s pronounced “Peh-ruhnt,” not like the English word for someone who has a child.
Quotable: “Bernie Parent did a lot for this organization, for this city, was involved off the ice as well, in the community,” Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier said after the Flyers’ win on Oct. 14. “It was a great effort in his honor. Definitely will be missed around here. We’d always see him around at games. Always had that quality of lightening everyone up, putting a smile on everyone’s face.”
NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman contributed to this report
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