Topic: Mark Parrish

Mark Parrish (born February 2, 1977) is an American professional ice hockey right winger, currently a free agent.

Parrish, a native of Bloomigton, Minnesota, attended Bloomington Jefferson High School 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 of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). After recording 30 points in 39 games as a freshman, Parrish was drafted in the third round, 79th overall, by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Parrish returned to the St. Cloud for one more season, then decided to forego his final two years of collegiate hockey to join the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League (WHL). A WHL West First All-Star in his only year of major junior, he scored at a goal-per-game pace with the Thunderbirds as team captain and accumulated 92 points in 54 games.

Before he could appear in an NHL game, the Colorado Avalanche traded Parrish to the Florida Panthers along with a 3rd round selection in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for veteran Tom Fitzgerald. He made his debut with the Panthers in 1998–99 and established himself as an effective power forward in the NHL, scoring 24 goals and 37 points as a rookie.