When you’re gone, it’s what you leave behind that can define a legacy. Ed Snider has certainly left behind quite a legacy.
A franchise turning 50 years old next season. Two Stanley Cups and six other trips to the Stanley Cup Final. A host of players that are legends in the Orange and Black.
Snider passed away at age 83 on Monday, but leaves behind so much more than just the achievements the Flyers made on the ice.
On the forefront, you saw the Flyers, his team. The Philadelphia Flyers will celebrate their 50th anniversary season in 2016-17, a testament to the longevity of taking a risk in 1967. But in recent years, Snider’s next most important contribution to Philadelphia was the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation.
Founded in 2005, the Foundation was formed to provide opportunities for inner city youth both on the ice and in the classroom so that they can develop life skills and get an education.
"The Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation is one of the most fulfilling projects in my life," Snider wrote in the 2014 annual report for the Snider Foundation. "You wouldn’t believe the number of letters I receive from young people who have come through our programs. None of these letters would have come if it weren’t for the unbelievable support of our donors and friends. Together, we are truly making a world of difference in the lives of so many deserving boys and girls."
The NHL community is about the growth of the game, taking it to places that it didn’t previously reach and seeing the evolution of the game. The Flyers and Wells Fargo Center will host the USA Hockey’s All-American Prospect game in September. At the announcement, both Paul Holmgren and Dave Hakstol spoke of the growth of the game in the United States and the number of prospects and now current NHLers that have come from surrounding areas, such as Johnny Gaudreau, James and Trevor van Riemsdyk and Anthony DeAngelo.
Snider’s foundation provides that opportunity for growth in both life and hockey for over 3,000 children in the Philadelphia area.
"That’s probably one of the things that’s most striking to me is his care and his passion for philanthropy for giving back to the community," Hakstol said. "That one day I was there for a little less or little more than an hour, but in that one little time period I saw several hundred kids in our community that his foundation had a direct major impact on. Those are some of the things that also stand out for me."
Between the foundation, which conducts hockey sessions at rinks throughout the area, and the four locations of Flyers Skate Zone, which hold regular sessions teaching hockey and skating to children, Snider has been an advocate of philanthropy in the Delaware Valley and USA Hockey.
That is the work that will live on. The Flyers are going to press on with playoff hockey later this week. The organization is stronger than ever nearly 50 years after its inception. The Foundation also continues to work in honor of its namesake.
That is what Mr. Snider leaves behind: a passion for greatness in anything he did. But his work in the community was just another example of his passion, and toward the end of his life, truly his greatest achievement.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
