PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden died Friday after a battle with cancer. He was 78.
“I don’t know that people on this side of the 49th quite understand how important he was in Canada. It’s as big as it gets,” said Hall of Fame Hockey Analyst for 94WIP Al Morganti of six-time Stanley Cup-winning netminder Dryden.
“I mean, I remember him, as a little kid, watching him play for Cornell. This big, huge guy, like this big giraffe in goal, just making unbelievable saves.”
Dryden packed a legendary career full of accolades into just a little over seven seasons, retiring in his early 30s to pursue law and politics. His 1983 memoir showcases just how intelligent he was.
“He wrote a book called ‘The Game,’ which is to me the best sports book ever written. It just showed you how much he put into the game and how he thought about the game,” Morganti said.
He wrote other celebrated books, served seven years in Canadian Parliament and taught briefly at McGill University. Morganti says he was a true “renaissance man.”
“God didn’t make many people that can drive on the five-lane highway. This guy drove on the five-lane highway, and he belonged in every one of them.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also reflected on Dryden’s legacy, saying he “was the reason I became a goalie.”
“Few Canadians have given more, or stood taller, for our country,” he added.