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 1991–2009

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

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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
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