Ryan Parent

As a junior, it seemed it was only a matter of time before Ryan Parent would become a NHL regular.

That day never really came.

Parent was a first round pick (18th overall) by the Nashville Predators in 2005. He was a strong skater and a responsible defender with a very active stick. He was only of average size and his puckhandling skills were only adequate, especially when pressured quickly.

Parent won a Memorial Cup as a rookie with Guelph in 2004. He was captain of the Team Ontario that took home the gold medal at the under 17 tournament in 2003-04. He was captain of Team Canada that won the gold medal at the under 18 championships in August of 2004. He and Marc Staal formed a dominating shutdown pairing and helped Team Canada win back to back gold medals at the World Junior championships in 2006 and 2007.

Before Parent turned pro the Nashville Predators had already traded his rights as they were, as seemingly always, deep in blue line prospects. They had moved him with Scottie Upshall, a 1st round draft-pick, and a 3rd round draft-pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Peter Forsberg at the 2007 trade deadline.

Over the next three seasons Parent (who of course was nicknamed "Bernie" in Philly, after 1970s goaltending legend Bernie Parent) would struggle to find a full time job in the NHL. As a result of injuries and inconsistent play, he never really did find a home on the Flyers' blue line, though he did play in 17 of 23 playoff games in 2010 when the Flyers surprisingly made it to Stanley Cup final.

Parent had back surgery in the summer of 2010 and was traded back to Nashville and then to Vancouver. He did play four games with the Canucks - the final four games of his NHL career. He finished with 106 goals, scoring 1 goal and 7 points.