Don Parsons (ice hockey)

Last updated

Don Parsons
Born (1969-01-17) January 17, 1969 (age 55)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Wing
Shot Right
Played for AHL
Worcester IceCats
St. John's Maple Leafs
CHL
Memphis Riverkings
ECHL
Nashville Knights
Tallahassee Tiger Sharks
Johnstown Chiefs
Baton Rouge Kingfish
Louisiana IceGators
IHL
Manitoba Moose
Cleveland Lumberjacks
NewIHL
Bloomington PrairieThunder
UHL
Quad City Mallards
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 19912009

Don Parsons (born January 17, 1969) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Parsons is noted for being a prolific goal scorer who briefly held the modern minor league goal-scoring record from 2008 to 2010.

Contents

Career

Early career and college

Parson started playing hockey as a defenseman for Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree, Massachusetts because of a lack of defensemen on the teams that he played on. [1] Although he wanted to play forward, he continued to play defense as a member of the UMass Lowell hockey team from 1988 to 1992, where he scored 18 goals in 107 games.

Professional

In Parsons's rookie ECHL season, newly hired rookie Nashville head coach Nick Fotiu asked Parsons if he wanted to make the move from playing defense to playing forward. Parsons agreed, and scored 27 goals as a member of the Knights' third line. [1] Parson signed with the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks for the 1994-95 season and scored 41 goals. The following season, he signed with the Johnstown Chiefs, reuniting him with former coach Fotiu and he had his first fifty-goal season, accomplishing the feat with a four-goal night on the final game of the season. [2] Parsons would leave the Chiefs that season and sign with the Baton Rouge Kingfish. He was later traded to the Louisiana Ice Gators, where he would have his second fifty-goal season while in the ECHL.

Parsons signed with the Flint Generals of the United Hockey League. After one season with the Generals, Parsons signed with the Memphis Riverkings, where he stayed for six seasons.

On December 26, 2008 Parsons broke the modern minor hockey record for goals scored by registering his 678th goal against the Flint Generals. [3] Parsons finished his career scoring 682 goals. His record was eclipsed by Robin Bouchard who scored his 683 career goal on March 20, 2010, against the Quad City Mallards of the IHL. [4]

Parson was waived by the Bloomington PrairieThunder on January 6, 2009. [5] Both management and Parsons announced that it was done for salary cap reasons.

Retirement

Parsons's #13 was retired by the Memphis Riverkings in a pregame ceremony on March 14, 2010. [6] He is the second such honoree in the team's history, joining the late Scott Brower.

Coaching career

In mid-2011 Parsons was appointed head coach of the Lebanon Valley College team. [7] The team finished the season 11-20 and reached the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs for the first time. [8]

Personal

Parsons currently lives outside of Lancaster, PA [6] and is married to his wife Kristen, and has three children: Abby, Maggy, and Maddox. [1] They met while Parsons was a member of the Johnstown Chiefs. [1]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1988–89 University of Massachusetts Lowell NCAA 1821314
1989–90 University of Massachusetts LowellNCAA26281022
1990–91 University of Massachusetts LowellNCAA317162335
1991–92 University of Massachusetts LowellNCAA327152234
1991–92 Nashville Knights ECHL 30330
1992–93 Nashville KnightsECHL6027346162932512
1994–95 Tallahassee Tiger Sharks ECHL6641367782135101512
1995–96 Johnstown Chiefs ECHL66503989104
1996–97 Baton Rouge Kingfish ECHL191314278
1996–97 Worcester IceCats AHL 21124
1996–97 Louisiana IceGators ECHL492821499417791654
1997–98 Louisiana IceGatorsECHL7055451001128110118
1998–99 Louisiana IceGatorsECHL443429634440114
1998–99 Manitoba Moose IHL 20000
1999–00 Flint Generals UHL 604657103104151061618
1999–00 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL10002
2000–01 Memphis RiverKings CHL 695657113131756116
2001–02 Memphis RiverKingsCHL59544195491614132724
2002–03 Memphis RiverKingsCHL64574910671141492312
2003–04 Memphis RiverKingsCHL6339418055
2003–04 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL20004
2004–05 Memphis RiverKingsCHL6055389346
2005–06 Memphis RiverKingsCHL5229366556
2006–07 Quad City Mallards UHL703831696051238
2007–08 Bloomington PrairieThunder IHL7538438190
2008–09 Bloomington PrairieThunderIHL3121123376
ECHL totals3772482214695065116324890
CHL totals3672902625524083733286142

Awards

CHL

Records

ECHL

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wichita Thunder</span> Professional minor league ice hockey team in Wichita, Kansas

The Wichita Thunder are a minor league hockey team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team played in the Central Hockey League from 1992 until 2014, and then in the ECHL since the 2014–15 season. From 1992 until December 2009, the Thunder played in the Britt Brown Arena located in the northern Wichita suburb of Park City. In January 2010, the team began playing its home games at the newly built Intrust Bank Arena. The Thunder are currently the ECHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnstown Chiefs</span> Defunct minor league ice hockey team

The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League when the league was formed. The Chiefs lasted for 22 years in Johnstown, and was the last of the founding ECHL teams playing under its original name and in its original city. The Chiefs relocated to Greenville, South Carolina, following the completion of the 2010 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youngstown SteelHounds</span> Ice hockey team in Youngstown, Ohio

The Youngstown SteelHounds was a professional ice hockey team which participated in the Central Hockey League (CHL) from the 2005–2006 season through the 2007–2008 season. The team was affiliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL and the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. The team played its home games at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cincinnati Cyclones</span> Professional ice hockey team

The Cincinnati Cyclones are an ice hockey team based in Cincinnati. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heritage Bank Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolina Thunderbirds</span> Defunct professional ice hockey team

The Carolina Thunderbirds were a professional ice hockey team located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989. The team played in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League from 1981 to 1987, the All-American Hockey League during 1987–88 and finally moved into the newly created East Coast Hockey League in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Renegades</span> Ice hockey team in Richmond, Virginia

The Richmond Renegades were a professional ice hockey team in Richmond, Virginia that played in the East Coast Hockey League from 1990 until 2003. The Renegades played at the Richmond Coliseum, which they marketed in later years as the Freezer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloomington PrairieThunder</span> Ice hockey team in Illinois, United States

The Bloomington PrairieThunder were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Bloomington, Illinois. They were a member of the Central Hockey League in the Turner Conference. The team was originally a member of the United Hockey League prior to its merger into the CHL in 2010. They played their home games at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

Mitchell Dennis Molloy was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played two games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres during the 1989–90 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1988 to 1993, was spent in various minor leagues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sebastian Dahm</span> Danish ice hockey player (born 1987)

Sebastian Dahm is a Danish professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing under contract with EC KAC of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL).

Jeffrey Christian is a Canadian-American former ice hockey forward who was drafted 23rd overall by the New Jersey Devils. He played 18 games in the National Hockey League for the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Phoenix Coyotes and played professionally in North American and Europe for over two decades. After his playing career was completed, Christian joined the Columbus Jr. Blue Jackets as a head coach for parts of three seasons. Christian was hired by the Wheeling Nailers midway into the 2015-16 season as an assistant coach and was later named Head Coach, holding the position from July 2016 to the completion of the 2017–18 season.

Cory Cyrenne is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was named the Canadian Junior A Hockey Player of the Year in 1995 and received a hockey scholarship to Colorado College. He was also named the CHL's Sportsmanlike player of the year in 1998.

Rod Aldoff is a Canadian former professional hockey player. He is currently the head coach of the Pensacola Ice Flyers of the SPHL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor Jobe</span> Ice hockey player

Trevor Jobe is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He last played for the Winston-Salem Polar Twins of the Southern Professional Hockey League in 2005. He is known for being a well-traveled, high scoring forward who has played for 35 different teams across North America and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray Hood</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Murray Hood is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 138 games with the Hampton Roads Admirals of the East Coast Hockey League between 1989 and 1992.

Scott Allen is a retired professional ice hockey center and a former assistant coach of the New York Islanders and Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League. He is currently an assistant coach for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Frederic "Freddie" Deschênes is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender.

Robin Bouchard is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who played sixteen seasons of minor league hockey. He holds the modern-era minor league goal scoring record, scoring 687 goals while playing in the ECHL, CoHL, United Hockey League, CHL, and the modern-day IHL.

Nick Boucher is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Fort Wayne Komets of the CHL.

Hardy Sauter is an American-born Canadian former professional ice hockey defenseman and coach.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kingston Native Don Parsons Closing In On Minor League Goal-scoring Record Archived March 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Tribune-Democrat.com: From Goalies To Grinders, The Chiefs Have Seen It All, April 2nd, 2010
  3. Shaun Bill (December 27, 2008). "Don Parsons - 678". Pro Hockey News.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  4. "BOUCHARD NETS HISTORIC GOAL". IHL Hockey.com.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. Douglas Hamm (January 7, 2009). "Thunder cut ties with record-holder Don Parsons". Pantagraph.com. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Commercialappeal.com: Kings Retire Parsons's Jersey (March 15, 2010)
  7. "Lebanon Valley picks Parsons". www.ncaa.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  8. "Coaching Staff". www.godutchmen.com. Retrieved January 4, 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. CHL.com: Award Winners Archived 2010-09-18 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ECHL.com: Regular Season Individual Records (.pdf) Archived 2007-10-05 at the Wayback Machine