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.
Career
Early career and college
Parson started playing hockey as a defenseman for
Archbishop Williams High School in
Braintree, Massachusetts
Braintree (), officially the Town of Braintree, is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a towBraintree is a city, with a mayor-council government, mayor-council form of government, and ...
because of a lack of defensemen on the teams that he played on.
[Kingston Native Don Parsons Closing In On Minor League Goal-scoring Record ](_blank)
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.
Parson signed with the
Tallahassee Tiger Sharks
The Tallahassee Tiger Sharks were a minor league professional ice hockey team that played in Tallahassee, Florida, from 1994 to 2001 as members of the East Coast Hockey League. The Tiger Sharks home rink was the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Cente ...
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. Parsons would leave the Chiefs that season and sign with the Baton Rouge Kingfish. He was later be 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
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memphi ...
, 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
The Flint Generals were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan. They were a member of the International Hockey League and played their home games at Perani Arena and Event Center. The Generals won two league championship ...
. 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
The Quad City Mallards were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa that competed in the International Hockey League, Central Hockey League and ECHL. They were named after the Mallards team ...
of the IHL.
Parson was waived by the
Bloomington PrairieThunder
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 (later ...
on January 6, 2009. 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.
[Commercialappeal.com: Kings Retire Parsons's Jersey (March 15, 2010)](_blank)
/ref> 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
Lebanon Valley College (LVC, Lebanon Valley, or The Valley) is a private college in Annville, Pennsylvania.
History
Lebanon Valley was founded on February 23, 1866, with classes beginning May 7 of that year and its first class graduating in 18 ...
team. The team finished the season 11-20 and reached the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association
Established in 1991, the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association is a hockey-only college athletic conference whose members are East Coast schools. The ECHA is part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 1.
League Format
ECHA member ...
playoffs for the first time.
Personal
Parsons currently lives outside of Lancaster, PA
Career statistics
Awards
CHL
*2000-01 Joe Burton Award (Scoring Champion)
*2001-02 Most Valuable Player
*2001-02 Most Valuable Player, Playoffs
*2002-03 Most Valuable Player
*2002-03 Joe Burton Award
*2003-04 Man Of The Year
*2004-05 All-CHL Team
Records
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The ...
*Most consecutive 40+ goal seasons (4) - 1994-99 (Nashville, Tallahassee, Johnstown, Baton Rouge, Louisiana)ECHL.com: Regular Season Individual Records (.pdf)
References
External links
*
Don Parsons at EliteProspects.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Don
1969 births
American men's ice hockey forwards
Baton Rouge Kingfish players
Bloomington PrairieThunder players
Cleveland Lumberjacks players
Flint Generals players
Johnstown Chiefs players
Las Vegas Coyotes players
Living people
Long Island Jawz players
Louisiana IceGators (ECHL) players
Manitoba Moose (IHL) players
Memphis RiverKings players
Nashville Knights players
New Jersey Rockin' Rollers players
Quad City Mallards (UHL) players
St. John's Maple Leafs players
Tallahassee Tiger Sharks players
UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey players
Worcester IceCats players
Ice hockey people from Boston
Archbishop Williams High School alumni