Life goes by so fast, but sometimes it ends abruptly.
On Saturday morning I was about to leave the house to visit Yvon Pedneault in the hospital. I heard my phone ringing in the distance but couldn’t get there in time to take the call. I checked the caller’s name and it was Éric, Yvon’s son.
I called back immediately. He had tears in his eyes. That’s when I knew my friend Yvon had died. I stayed home to remember the time I spent with Yvon.
Our friendship started at Jarry Park during an Expos game. He had just joined Montreal-Matin and was hired to cover an Expos game. I surprised him that evening because instead of starting a conversation about the Expos, I told him about a man from Arvida, Claude Hardy, an excellent goalkeeper. Before he could reply, I continued the conversation by explaining how Claude excelled as a catcher for the Quebec baseball team at the Canadian Baseball Championship.
Without hesitation, he continued our conversation and mentioned how Claude Hardy had an impact on the region not only as a hockey player but also as a receiver. From that moment on, Yvon convinced me that he was into other sports than hockey.
hockey and softball
Over the years we have played hockey and softball, not to mention the many golf games. With a simple smile on his face, glasses perched on the tip of his nose and his head tilted to his shoulder, “I heard that a certain player would be traded.” He had just spoken to his good friend Scotty Bowman.
Yvon touched on many aspects of the hockey world, such as working closely with the hockey players’ agents and players, not to mention communicating directly with the executives. He had great respect for Serge Savard.
Yvon was the hockey historian with Enrico Ciccone, Maxim Lapierre, Guillaume Latendresse and Félix Séguin. How could I forget how many times he walked into our baseball studio with his eyes down because the Blue Jays were losing. The former Blue Jays match reporter once again demonstrated his passion for all sports. He was pleased with Pierre Karl Péladeau’s purchase of the Alouettes.
The last time I saw Yvon, he was telling people around us about the time he was covering a baseball game and that I was his analyst. He turns to me, but I wasn’t there because I went to get an ice cream cone. He laughed heartily.
Yvon, I am writing to you today and unfortunately you are no longer here.
Good evening my dear Ped.
