Parrish nets hat trick in his Dallas debut; Fresh faces to be on U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
Posted on November 8th, 2008 – 10:15 AMBy Michael Russo
Mark Parrish, bought out by the Wild after Year 2 of a five-year contract, already has as much or more goals than every Wild player except for three — in one game.
With basically no training camp, the former Jefferson High star and Wild winger netted a hat trick in his Stars debut last night.
The Stars — technically the team Parrish grew up once upon a time in Minnesota.
Also, if you didn’t see, I did a story on a look ahead at the USA Team for the 2010 Games here in Vancouver. Here’s the story. I’m glad I had that sitting in the can to run from here in Vancouver since flight delays caused me to miss the Wild’s very optional practice yesterday.
Here is the list I put together of potential U.S. players. Normally I would have put the Johnson Brothers, Erik and Jack, (OK, they’re not brothers) as shoo-ins, but both are going to be coming off serious, serious injuries, so we’ll have to see how they rehab and look at next year’s evaluation camp and the start of the season.
I did forget Jason Pominville as a possible contender. The Sabres forward has dual citizenship and played on last year’s Worlds, I believe.
Talk to you after the morning skate.
47 Responses to "Parrish nets hat trick in his Dallas debut; Fresh faces to be on U.S. Olympic Hockey Team"
I hope that Parrish sticks it right in the Wild’s where the sun don’t shine.
What is the fascination with Parrish? He played subpar for the Wild and seems to have some sort of hold on the media. I am happy he is doing well as a Minnesota native but frankly he is an average player on his later playing days..
Wheeler on the other hand is doing great in Boston and I see nothing posted?
Sorry Mark that you had to be cut but you did not make a difference for the Wild. Good luck in Dallas.
Just killing some time and happened to read the Don’s biograph.
>>being able to cover the three-time Sunshine Hockey League-champion West Palm Beach Blaze in the early-’90s.<<
He must have really loved hockey to stick with that gig. Sunshine Hockey League????? I s’pose WPB is an OK place to live if you’ve got the coin, which I doubt would be the case for a fledgling sportswriter. Wouldn’t hockey beat writer in south Florida be akin to Fashion Editor for the Des Moines Register? Kudos to the Don for perseverance and commitment to his craft. Now he is a hockey rock star!!
The cream always rises to the top, Stoned.
DR has his plan! We didn’t need him.
Hey, just keep increasing ticket prices, getting rid of veterans, playing kids and has beens. Unfortunately, they keep doing well with this plan!
I was at the Montreal game, and am going Thursday. We”ll see.
Parrish is gone. Move on already.
Parrish is a good guy who was accessible and did a good job of promoting the Wild. Smug must have saw something in him to give him the big contract. There is half a chance we will find out that the reason he is perceived as playing subpar here is that he was injured and ill quite a bit last year and that Jock-U put him in the dog house because he couldn’t jam a square peg in a round hole. That is a problem between Smug and Jock-U and to resolve it, they had to embarrass MP by releasing him. It could have been handled better.
>>Parrish is gone. Move on already.<<
Yeah, you’re right. Everybody on the blog…….back to discussing Gaby’s groin.
Yeah, you’re right. Everybody on the blog…….back to discussing Gaby’s groin.
Sadly, we’re still stuck with this… 
SotB… you’re right it could have been handled better. But because DR overpaid Parrish, it made him and his contract impossible to trade.
Obviously he can still play in the NHL - in the right situation. That situation wasn’t with the Wild. It will have to be in Dallas since he signed a 2 year deal.
Because of the loot the Wild paid him, he could sign a very cap friendly deal. Parrish just wanted to play…he has enough dough to retire on.
Russo wheres Rolston?
Good grief. Can’t people just wish Parrish well without criticism?
FH question: So, do I bank on Jokinen lighting it up against Florida, or Dats lighting it up against NJ? Or do I drop Mikko and use both of them.
[…] Russo’s Rants – […]
Hey we’re paying him for the next six years to do nothing. I think we have the right to give him a shot or two.
I noticed KiPA posted the article about the Rangers seeking compensation for Cherponav. Wow that could launch a heated debate! Isn’t it a bit early for them to even bring this up? The kid just passed away for Gods sake.. 
great call Lemaire you d00sh bag…..
get over your self and you lame as bill mahoney style of hockey…..
let these guys skate - I am so sick of the take a dump and chase I could puke…..
it is no wonder gabby wants the heck out of here…..
Wheeler is a machine…need him on the Wild roster.
No punishment from the league for *ucker, unfortunately. Karma’s gotta catch up to these types at some point, right?
Two players left the Wild that are big names. (1) Mark Parrish (2) Paval Demitra (3) Brian Rolston
Lets face it, as it is safe to assume One of the 3 players made a comment that JL was not happy with. One player on the Wild stated Gaborik tanked it in the playoffs, and JL did not like the players attitude.
It could only be one of 3 players that said it, and my guess is it was Parrish. It was more then that obviously. That is why I have stated that JL has his team, and I have confidence that with his team he can go far. Is Detroit or San Jose more talented ? Not an easy answer if the Wild are 100% healthy, but with JL having his team it will not always be about talent.
Maybe the Wild have better Goaltending then Detroit and San jose
Darn- 3 playerss with big names not two. Maybe Russo can share his editor for Mister Know it all posts
Ms. C: how do you not start Datsyuk? I’d go with him and Koivu, given Luongo’s terrible numbers against the Wild.
I dunno, Kev. I’m off my game today. Just thought maybe Olli might have a little something saved up for Florida… you know how guys are when they go back to their old teams. Playing anybody else, it would be a no brainer to me as well.
ms.c: My wife just surprised me with date night tonight! BBQ and beer, and then the Amerks vs. the AEROS!
WOO HOO!
I should even be back for the majority of the Wild game.
Who should I keep my eye on?
Jacques is a problem, not a solution. He holds grudges against players and away they go. The problem is the players he hates the most are the players he needs the most and that is scorers.
Sushinsky bolted, Voloshenko bolted, Kalus bolted, Gaborik’s going to bolt, Demitra bolted, Rolston bolted, Lemaire inexplicably didn’t like Parrish, doesn’t like Pouliot, and I’m sure there are more I’m missing. The idea you can dump all your scorers and win a Cup is inconceivable and impossible. This team is no closer now to a Cup than it was opening day season 1.
I suppose that’s something to think of. Just seems to me any Red Wing is a must-start, which would leave your choice between Jokinen and Koivu.
Simply put, and I said as much as the day he was bought out, and when Nolan was signed, dumping Parrish was foolish. Dumping Parrish for Nolan is laughable at the very least. This team has a problem and that problem is Risebrough has never been a good GM and with Doug as GM there is no direction.
99.9% of this renewed Parrish jonesing and DR/JL bashing wouldn’t have happened if the guy hadn’t just had a good game. It certainly wasn’t there during the rest of our great start…get a grip, people.
three names? i see one in rolston…JL the doosh has the team at 8-3-1…lets see how the next gretzky i mean parrish is doing in a month before passing judgement. there is a reason it took until nov for him to get a 2-way deal…
Any word on TucKer?
Nick in New York says:
November 8th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
99.9% of this renewed Parrish jonesing and DR/JL bashing wouldn’t have happened if the guy hadn’t just had a good game. It certainly wasn’t there during the rest of our great start…get a grip, people.
I’d fall in the .01% After the lockout, neither Doug or Jacques should’ve had a job with the Wild. Doug is incompetent and Jacques can’t coach in the “new” NHL. People can point to the Wild record all they want, but it’s only 1/7 of the way into the season, and the Wild almost always start out hot if you look at their history. The reality of it all is Niklas Backstrom is forced to win games on his own, like the other night in Colorado, because the defense corp without Burns is terrible, and the team couldn’t even hit a broomball net with their shots, and certainly can’t hit a NHL net. It all comes down to bad coaching, or worse yet, the players are sick of Lemaire’s act and have tuned him out. Either way this team just treads water. It has no direction, no passion, and outside of Mikko, minimal leadership. This is not a Cup team, and never will be, until Risebrough and Lemaire are shown the door.
YAY! That’s awesome, Nick!
Who to watch… All of them? 
I’ll be watching online, so just enjoy the game and watch who you wanna watch. Sorry you don’t get to see Clutterbuck and Kolanos. They’re both extra special in person, but I suppose that’s why they’re with the big club.
Could be interesting as Riley Emmerson is with the Amerks now. Not sure he’ll play (not sure why he’s in the AHL for that matter) but there could be some sparks there. Maybe him and Scott or Kassian go…
sad. fighting doesn’t belong in hockey and getting excited about is simply wrong.
You’re welcome to your opinion, Dan.
Dan, they hit the broomball net 3 times didnt they?
As for Backstrom, how do you think Van. wins 95% of their games? Riding Luango, thats how. As for fighting, talk to anyone that knows hockey, yes fighting has its place.
You dont like a good fight, watch golf.
if lovin’ the lord is wrong…I don’t wanna be right!
Dan should have gotten on my for my bad grammar though…
“Maybe HE and Scott or Kassian go…”
Like I was raised by wolves or something.
FYI: Ryan Jones is 2-3-5 in 10 games for the Preds so far this year.
1. couldn’t care less about grammar. enough grammar police in everyday life. it gets rather annoying wouldn’t you agree.
2. Luongo is an overrated goalie. Maybe you know, maybe you don’t, but since Backstrom came into the league, Nik is #1 in wins, #1 in gaa, and 3rd in save%
3. There is no place for fighting in the NHL. All fighting does is allow no talent, no skilled goons to play in the league. Guys like Boogaard, Burish, Cote, Parros, Godard, and Orr don’t belong in the NHL, but fighting gives them jobs. The product would be much better without fighting and would draw a lot more fans too.
jeffs468 says:
November 8th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
As for fighting, talk to anyone that knows hockey, yes fighting has its place.
really? I have a friend currently in the NHL. He fights occasionally and he does it because he’s asked to. He’s told me he doesn’t like it at all.
I have another friend that fought often in junior, ECHL, and AHL and it was because he is a big guy and the coaches asked him to. He didn’t like fighting and told me he would have no problem with it going away.
Than there is me. I played 13 years of hockey, had an uncle that played goalie for Dartmuth, my grandpa was friends with former Bemidji State coach Bob Peters. I’ve been in and around hockey my entire life. I know the sport extremely well. There simply is NO room for fighting in hockey. It’s not needed, serves no purpose, and it needs to be banned to make the NHL product grow (firing Bettman would help too).
I love it when guys with connections (that they won’t name - and we can’t verify) come on here and tell us mortals how it REALLY is…you know, it adds an element of authenticity to the whole thing.
PS: There’s an “O” in Dartmouth.
Mark Parrish is no doubt not JLs guy, but people please remember…
As a general manager do you just put any personality on your team that can score ? Answer is no. You do need scoring but you have to have good charcter type hardworking players. JL has proved that he can coach offensive type forwards. Players like Neal Broten have said that he offered more freedom offensively, then his previous coaches like Bob Gainey, and he liked playing for him.
DR simply chose JL, and when he made that choice he made the choice to get a JL roster.Otherwise why bother having JL as a coach.
I think that players like Demitra and Parrish used JL coaching as an excuse why they played lousy, and why would DR listen to that ?
DR has done a horrible job with Minnesota talent on his squad, and that has no excuses
Dan I agree that Nicks stats are they best, But no matter how overrated you say Luango is, my point is, he is the one person who wins most of Vans games for them. Without him Van is a bottom feeder in the league, not only our conference.
We are going to have to agree to disagree on fighting. I have also spent most of my life with hockey, ane i think it has its place.
i am not the only one, i think most people believe to some extent.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=buccigross_john&id=3655359
Mkia
DR has done a horrible job with Minnesota talent on his squad, and that has no excuses
Not quite sure where you are going with that.
Dan, just cause your old man coached the gophers dont make you an authority on pro game.
I had a kid from Pee Wees that I helped coach and now he is in the NHL.
I guess I know more than most then, eh?
I bet Uncle Dartmouth would disagree on the grammar thing.
ms.c: if they show a dude in a green Wild hat (I’m undecided about the white Wild jersey - I feel like it’s kind of lame at a game that the team isn’t playing in) and a blue long sleeve shirt on the Aero’s broadcast, that’s me.
Food
