Mark Parrish

Mark Parrish was a pretty decent goal scorer in the early 2000s. Best known for playing with the New York Islanders he scored over 20 goals in 6 out of 7 seasons from 1999 through 2006. Playing with Michael Peca in 2001-02 Parrish reached career highs with 30 goals and 60 points.

Parrish was a streaky scorer. He had a terrific shot though many of his goals came from in close. He had a knack of finding just enough room to the left of the slot to get his shot off - especially on the power play. The 5'11" 200lb winger also had good outside speed to drive by defensemen on the rush. He never thought twice about driving hard to the net.

Parrish never avoided the high traffic areas and that was a real key to his success. It allowed him gain the respect of his teammates and coaches and allowed him to develop into a quiet leader. He was admired as a character player with a great attitude as much as for being a good goal scoring threat. 

That helped Parrish be selected for the American Olympic team in 2006, the highlight of his hockey career. A 5 goals in 6 games performance at the 2005 World Championships helped, too. Parrish as a regular with Team USA, playing in 2 world juniors and 3 World championships.

Unfortunately Parrish's career kind of spun out of control after the Olympics. The Islanders traded him to Los Angeles where he never got untracked and was released at the end of the season. He signed a big contract with Minnesota and despite a decent first year he was bought out after his second year. Then he really bounced around with Dallas, Tampa Bay, Buffalo and Ottawa before finally hanging up the blades.