Mark Daniel Parrish (born February 2, 1977) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

right winger. Parrish has played 11 seasons and over 700 games in the NHL with the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and initially played their home g ...

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play ...

, and

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, alon ...

Playing career

Parrish, a native of Bloomington,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

, attended

Bloomington Jefferson High School Thomas Jefferson High School is one of the two high schools in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States Independent School District No. 271. It is located at 102nd Street and France Avenue on the suburb's southwest side. About 1,600 students attend ...

and won two high school State Championships with the Jaguars in 1993 and 1994. Upon graduating from high school, Parrish joined the

St. Cloud State Huskies The St. Cloud State Huskies are the athletic teams for St. Cloud State University. The university is primarily a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), and currently sponsors 18 NCAA Division II teams. SCSU also sponsors a ...

of the

Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

(WCHA). After recording 30 points in 39 games as a freshman, Parrish was drafted in the third round, 79th overall, by the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (N ...

in the

1996 NHL Entry Draft The 1996 NHL Entry Draft was the 34th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 22, 1996. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Zdeno Chára, who retired after the 2021–22 season. ...

. Parrish returned to the St. Cloud for one more season, then decided to forgo his final two years of collegiate hockey to join the

Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington, south of Seattle. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. They play their games at home in acc ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...

(WHL). A WHL West First All-Star in his only year of

major junior Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

, he scored at a goal-per-game pace with the Thunderbirds as

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

and accumulated 92 points in 54 games. Before he could appear in an NHL game, the

traded Parrish to the

along with a 3rd round selection in the

1998 NHL Entry Draft The 1998 NHL Entry Draft was the 36th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 27 at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York. A total of 258 players were drafted. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Brian Gionta, M ...

in exchange for veteran Tom Fitzgerald. He made his debut with the Panthers in 1998–99 and established himself as an effective

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

in the NHL, scoring 24 goals and 37 points as a rookie. After two seasons with the Panthers, Parrish was sent to the

with

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...

Oleg Kvasha Oleg Vladimirovich Kvasha (russian: Олег Владимирович Кваша; born July 26, 1978) is a Russian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Florida Panthers, New York Isla ...

in exchange for future superstars

Roberto Luongo Roberto Luongo (, , ; born April 4, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers and the Vancouver Canucks. Luongo is a ...

and

Olli Jokinen Olli Veli Pekka Jokinen (born December 5, 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings third overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he made his NHL debut. He has also played for th ...

. His production dipped to 17 goals and 30 points in his first season with the Islanders, before emerging with a career-high 30 goals, 30 assists and 60 points in 2001–02. His career-year also included an appearance in the

2002 NHL All-Star Game The 2002 National Hockey League All-Star Game took place on February 2, 2002, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The final score was World 8, North America 5. This was the last NHL All-Star Game to have the North America vs. World All-Star for ...

. In the off-season, he was re-signed to a two-year contract by the Islanders. Parrish continued to score in the 20-goal range and re-signed again with the Islanders following the 2003–04 season, but was inactive during 2004–05 due to the

NHL lockout The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League: * The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season * The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...

. When NHL play was set to resume the following season, Parrish signed another one-year contract worth $1.9 million on September 12, 2005. At the 2005–06 trade deadline, he was dealt to the

along with

Brent Sopel Brent Bernard Sopel (born January 7, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). Sopel was originally selected 144th overall at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft b ...

for

Jeff Tambellini Jeff Tambellini (born April 13, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger and current Director of Player Development for the Seattle Kraken of the NHL. Originally selected 27th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2003 NHL Ent ...

and

Denis Grebeshkov Denis Sergeyevich Grebeshkov (russian: Денис Серге́евич Гребешков; born October 11, 1983) is a Russian former professional ice hockey defenceman who last played for Vityaz Podolsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). ...

. As his one-year contract expired at the end of that season, he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2006, and signed with his home-state team, the

to a five-year, $13.25 million contract. Parrish played two seasons with the Wild and was given the captaincy on three occasions as part of the team's monthly rotation. However, he could not match his previous production with the Islanders. On July 30, 2008, the final three years of Parrish's contract was bought out in order to clear salary cap space and he became a free agent. Without an NHL team, Parrish signed with the

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

(AHL) on a 25-game tryout basis on October 22. Soon thereafter, however, the

signed Parrish to a 1-year,

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

on November 3. He made an immediate impact in his Stars debut on November 7, recording a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

in a 5–2 win against the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center ...

. Not re-signed by the Stars for the 2009–10 season, Parrish was invited to training camp on a tryout by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce ...

on September 11, 2009. He was released two weeks later on September 25. On October 10, 2009, it was reported that Parrish had signed with the

Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises: *Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015 *Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hocke ...

of the AHL. Providing offensive support and a veteran presence Parrish was signed to a one-year contract by the Admirals NHL affiliate, the

on February 8, 2010. On September 17, 2010, it was announced that he would be heading to Buffalo for a tryout with the Sabres. He was released from his tryout on October 2, 2010. He was signed by Buffalo on October 6 and sent their AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. After spending the season with the Pirates without being recalled, Parrish was recalled by the Buffalo Sabres on February 8, 2011. On July 8, 2011, he was signed by the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...

to a two-way contract, one-year contract. Parrish did not appear in a game with Ottawa, as he was reassigned from training camp to their AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, for the duration of the 2011–12 season. In his last professional campaign Parrish scored 15 goals and 30 points in 51 games, while also serving as team captain. Following that season, Parrish ended his playing career and served as a

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...

for his alma mater, St. Cloud State, on television with Fox-9's Jim Rich. On June 11, 2015, Parrish was hired as the new head coach of the high school boys hockey team in

Orono, Minnesota Orono ( ) is a rural city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States west of Minneapolis. Located on the north shore of Lake Minnetonka, Orono is known for its rural character and abundant wildlife. The population was 7,437 at the 2010 cens ...

. Parrish and Assistant Coach Will Scholz switched roles in 2017, allowing Parrish to pursue a career in

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...

for the

. Under Scholz, Orono went on to win the 2018 Minnesota State High School League Championship by defeating Alexandria 2–1, with Parrish broadcasting the game.

International play

Along with

teammates

Rick DiPietro Richard W. DiPietro Jr. (born September 19, 1981) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender and current co-host of ESPN 98.7 FM's "DiPietro and Rothenberg" with Dave Rothenberg. He is also an analyst on National Hockey League (NH ...

and Jason Blake, Parrish played for

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

held in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, in February 2006. The team was led by

Peter Laviolette Peter Philip Laviolette Jr. (born December 7, 1964) is an American professional ice hockey coach, and former player, currently serving as head coach for the Washington Capitals. He was previously the head coach of the New York Islanders, Caroli ...

, Parrish's former coach with the Islanders. Team USA finished a disappointing 1–4–1, gaining its only win over

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and eventually losing to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

in the quarterfinals.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

*
Mark Parrish's U.S. Olympic Team bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrish, Mark 1977 births Living people American men's ice hockey right wingers Binghamton Senators players Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Buffalo Sabres players Colorado Avalanche draft picks Dallas Stars players Florida Panthers players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Los Angeles Kings players Minnesota Wild players National Hockey League All-Stars New York Islanders players Norfolk Admirals players Olympic ice hockey players of the United States Portland Pirates players Seattle Thunderbirds players Sportspeople from Bloomington, Minnesota St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey players Tampa Bay Lightning players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans