Pelle Lindbergh remains one of Philadelphia\u2019s greatest \u201cwhat-ifs.\u201d Lindbergh, the first European goaltender ever drafted into the NHL, had just won the Vezina Trophy in 1984-85, and looked like he was peaking to become the next great Flyers goalie, after Bernie Parent\u2019s retirement a few years earlier.<\/p>\n
But that Vezina Trophy-winning season was his last full one, after Lindbergh crashed his vehicle while driving drunk and died on Nov. 11, 1985. He was 26 years old.<\/p>\n
Lindbergh\u2019s life and death are the subject of a new documentary from filmmaker Charlie Minn, The Swede of Philadelphia, which will be screened in some local theaters beginning Friday.<\/p>\n
\u00bb READ MORE: Remembering Pelle Lindbergh, 25 years on<\/a><\/p>\n Minn, who played goalie growing up, has generally found himself drawn to true crime as the subject of his documentaries, but he was always inspired by Lindbergh as a smaller player looking to play goalie. <\/p>\n \u201cPelle Lindbergh was really my second real relationship to death. I was in high school and couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d Minn said. \u201cBack then, there was no social media, so the word didn\u2019t travel like it would today. I mean, can you imagine if a [Vezina] trophy winner crashed his car today, how that would blow up on social media? <\/p>\n \u201cBack then, you had to wait until the morning paper came out, or watch it on the news that night. You couldn\u2019t get anything on your phone, and so the Pelle Lindbergh story has always been in my mind. The narrative, he drank, he drove, he crashed his car into a wall, but I said, maybe there\u2019s something else going on here, you know, why don\u2019t you really look into everything that happened that morning?\u201d<\/p>\n Minn uses the documentary to investigate. He wanted to track down the two people who were in the car with Lindbergh during the crash, Ed Parvin and Kathy McNeal, but he wasn\u2019t sure if they were even still alive or would be interested in speaking. He also spoke with current Flyers coach Rick Tocchet<\/a>, who was a player on the team at the time, and conducted one of the final interviews with Parent, Lindbergh\u2019s goalie coach, who died in September before the release of the film.<\/p>\n \u201cI miss you, buddy. I miss you a lot,\u201d Parent said when asked what he\u2019d say to Lindbergh if given a final opportunity to speak with him. \u201cAnd we\u2019ll get together soon \u2014 not too soon. I know you\u2019re happy where you\u2019re at, and I\u2019m happy where I\u2019m at, too. But we will get together. Wow. What a time this is going to be for eternal life. Isn\u2019t that awesome? I miss you, and I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n