From Nashville Predators On SI · · 1m 30s
Petey: 23 years of hockey and Parkinson's
Brent Peterson spent 11 seasons as an NHL player, 13 more behind the Predators bench, and 23 years facing Parkinson's with a joke ready.
In brief
Brent Peterson spent 11 seasons as an NHL player, 13 more behind the Predators bench, and 23 years facing Parkinson's with a joke ready. Peterson turned his own diagnosis into a foundation for other families, and kept thinking of others first until the end. Originally reported by Nashville Predators On SI.
Nashville loses a friend
The Predators announced Friday that former assistant coach Brent Peterson died at 68 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
“We are incredibly saddened by the passing of our dear friend Brent Peterson.”
A first round pick
Detroit took him 12th overall in the 1978 draft. He played 11 NHL seasons for the Red Wings, Sabres, Canucks and Whalers, with 72 goals and 213 points in 620 games.
Straight into coaching
When his playing days ended he became an assistant in Hartford for two seasons, working under Rick Ley, his former head coach.
A title run in Portland
He took over the Portland Winter Hawks in 1991 and won three division titles in seven years. His last season, 1998, ended with the WHL Championship and the Memorial Cup.
Thirteen years in Nashville
He joined Barry Trotz on the expansion Predators bench in 1998 and stayed until 2011, helping the club to 455 regular season wins and six playoff trips.
The foundation he built
Diagnosed in 2002, he started the Peterson Foundation for Parkinson's in 2009 to help patients, caregivers and families. He lived 23 years with the disease.
“Brent loved a good laugh and lived with Parkinson's for 23 years, facing every day with a smile and a joke.”
The essence
Peterson turned his own diagnosis into a foundation for other families, and kept thinking of others first until the end.
