SCOTT PARSE
This season: 5 games, 1 goal, 3 assists, 0 penalty minutes, 13:47 average ice time.
The good: Parse showed enough last season that the Kings decided he would get the first crack at a top-six winger position. The Kings missed in their attempt at landing high-profile free agent Ilya Kovalchuk, and their fallback option was Parse, a former sixth-round draft pick with one partial NHL season under his belt. A reach? Perhaps, but Kings management raves about Parse’s pure-skill level and still believes that Parse is one the best natural scorers on the team.
The bad: This season was a total wash for Parse, who was never healthy. His training-camp injury, first described as a sore groin, turned into a hip issue. Parse tried to play in November but lasted only five games before he was sidelined again and opted for surgery. After five-plus months of recovery, Parse made it back to the lineup for Game 5 of the series against San Jose and played well, but struggled in Game 6 and didn’t leave the bench in the third period or overtime.
Going forward: Terry Murray wasn’t happy with Parse at the end of the season, but what could Parse do? He pushed himself for more than five months and, by all accounts, thought he was helping the team by trying to return. It’s hard to fault a player for that. The Kings still like Parse’s potential. Depending on what they do in the free-agent and trade markets this summer, Parse very well could get another chance at a high-profile role in training camp, assuming he is healthy.
Get well and prove me wrong, dude. I don’t see it, but if you really do have the “offensive flair” I am ready for you to use it.
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hard to grade a guy on only 5 games but considering the injuries and he was almost a point a game average in the 5 games i gave him B+. Im not sure he is the answer to our need for a skilled LW but he should gwet a fair shake and 5 games is not a fair shasker IMO. get 100% during the offseason and well see what happens next year. wish him the best!
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KFII Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, My grade for him too, and for the same reason. I added the plus for the heart he showed trying to come back early and make a difference.
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I know there are the Parse haters, but I like him. I think he sees the ice real well and has a deceptively hard and accurate shot. I am worried about this lingering hip issue. I think he had a labral tear, which can be very hard to heal, even after surgery. I hope this doesnt last into next season, because I think his window wont last forever. He doesnt impress with alot of speed, but has excellent hockey sense and see the ice well. Hes not a top 6 IMHO, but I think can contribute offensively and would be a great bottom six contributer.
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Token Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
@tornado12, +1
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tornado12 Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
@Token, thx for reading, ill be here all week, everyday, pretty much every hour plus…who am i kidding, im on here more then brad on angolina!
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I have not seen enough of his play to be able to grade him accurately so I’ll abstain right now,
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wonder how purcell is doing. he was such a crappy player on the kings. can’t do much better on any other team…
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jkking Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 11:52 am
@jkking, wierd how a player leaves the kings and he gets 17 goals and 51 point with the new team and he couldn’t get over 5 goals with the kings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_Purcell
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Dominick Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
@jkking, Isn’t that the exact reason we got rid of the Fro? 17 goals and 51 points. He he he.
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jkking Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
@Dominick, fro was not good on the kings or any other team. He’s done with the rangers after this year, i can’t see them signing him again. 7 goals??
tornado12 Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
@jjking- really? Fro wasnt good on the Kings? 381 points in 536 games with us? thats 0.71 points per game. WOW, what do you consider good then?
Before99 Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
@Dominick, I would take Frolov back in a heartbeat!
Dominick Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
@jkking, Still debatable how exactly Fro’s play was. Trading out 51 points for 15, for me is the only answer to the arguement.
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mcsorleyfan Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
@Dominick, Or we are still a long way off from having the horses that can run this type of a race. Another 5 years?
BrokeKingsFan Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
@jkking, It seems to me that the only guys who excell and produce in TM system are guys who have been playing it for a while. I think the defensive schemes are not very basic and it takes a while to fully get a grasp on it and make the correct reads.Skilled offensive guys take time to adjust to the system and they have to think alot more on the ice instead of things being instinctual(ex: Dustin Penner). Once these guys understand and can excecute the system properly without having to think about it can revert back to the offernsive skill set when the opportunity presents itself and hopefully produce. Guys like Boyle, and Purcell and others could not get the system down quick enough for TM or whomever and there O opportunities were a plenty and were shipped out and viewed as expendable. They produce on other teams because they do not have the same defensive philosophy the Kings have and are able to take gambles more often (which does leaves them defensivly vulnerable) and concentrate more on the offense side of the puck. Which philosophy or system is better? thats a good debate but i think what good is it to score goals if you cant prevent them. I would like to see more of a balance in our system when it comes to O and D but some would argue that if the system is excecuted properly the offensive chances will be there and then its just a matter of our guys making the most of them. So purcell on a Tampa team who is heavily offensive dominant gets more freedom to take chances therefor gets alot more opportunities at the net. The law of averages plays in here and his points go up. just my opinion obviously.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
@BrokeKingsFan, O opportunities were *NOT* aplenty and were shipped out and viewed as expendable
Dominick Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
@BrokeKingsFan,
I wish for balance also. 25th, 2.55 gf/g means our defensive play doesn’t lead to enough offense. Which means the guys haven’t played the system properly all season long, or the system is too defense oriented to score offensively.
Dominick Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
@BrokeKingsFan,
If we at least moved up 10 spots to middle of the league offensively at 15th, we would be a Stanly cup contender.
Tony Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
@jkking, Purcell had a ton of skill but not enough “grit” for our grinding style of hockey that will never win a Cup…unless your playing 70s hockey
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BakoCAkingsCondorsGuy Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
@jkking,
Ahhhhh.
Sarcasm.
Yet, so true…
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snbrdsummit Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
@jkking,
Amazing how Purcell, Moulson and Boyle have all flourished with their new teams. There’s nothing wrong with Parse except Murray. If we trade him, he’ll excel elsewhere.
Speaking of… All three of these other players weren’t able to flourish under Murray either. Murray stymies the offensive potential of all players with dump and chase. No player who has been traded to the Kings has ever met the OFFENSIVE potential that they exhibited on other teams. Williams was supposed to be a bonafide 30 goal scorer. Despite having what I consider to be a spectacular season this year, he still isn’t getting there.
Mitchell, Poni, Smyth, Scuderi and ugggg Penner… All of these guys have yet to produce (offensively) what was expected of them. Which is more likely? That every player we get is an under-acheiver? Or is it that they aren’t able to reach their potential because of a common cause.
Imagine the potential.
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jkking Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
@snbrdsummit, after next year, i believe we need a coaching change. i want the guys to take more chances. more O out of the team. we saw that at the end of the season after kopi when brown and drew took those chances. we need more of these even if it leaves us defensively vulnerable.
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Dominick Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
@jkking, With the proper system anything is possible. How many times has Detroit lead the league offensively, and defensively at the same time. Vancouver did it last season, so you can score and be defensively sound all at the same time.
By the way, the only teams that do that are puck possesion teams. Puck management teams rarely lead in both catagories.
Dominick Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
@jkking, ooops! not last season, this season.
KingNation13 Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:36 pm
@jkking,
Dominick, you are correct, indeed, young, sir, Balance is absolutely the key.
Also, Purcell and Tampa do not play an open, risk taking offense, they play a responsible suffocating defensive scheme(trap). They play with balance, just as Dominick suggests. And for that reason I picked(before the sweep) Tampa to represent the East in the Finals. Purcell only plays a handful of minutes as well(10-12 a game, I believe off the top of my head), which makes his numbers even more impressive. Oh, well, we have to move forward.
Dominick Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
@snbrdsummit, Great post!
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Tony Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
@snbrdsummit, totally agree-it’s the system-not the players
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remember when former management tried to shove Erik Rasmussen down our throats? or Randy Robitaille? or Steve Heinze? or Mikko Eloranta? — well, any of those guys would give you similar results as Parse when healthy. Yawn.
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Injury prone players r not worth the investment of game play
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Sebastian Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
@39scars, Every player who plays in the NHL is “prone” to injury. lol
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Sebastian Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
@Sebastian, Its like saying I am prone to car accidents because i got rear ended twice, and i should not be allowed to drive.
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Wow! Surprised at the response thus far.
Parse was a point per game in his short early stint. Bummer folks can’t see past the injured performance in the playoffs.
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Dominick Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
@Token, Some are just harder to please. Good news is, if he ever reaches his potential you can say I told you so. I did with Martinez.
Bad news is, if he doesn’t some will remember what you said and throw it back in your face. 
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Token Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
@Dominick, I’m a big old dog, I can take it.
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KingNation13 Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
@Token,
Count me as one of the pro-Parse fans. I like the kid.
I don’t like the idea of Parse being pegged #1 LW. If that’s the case, well, that’s managements problem/failure, not Parse. I can easily see Parse claiming the second line LW after Smyth’s contract is up.
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Kind of a silly evaluation no matter how you slice it. I gave him a C, but it means nothing until we see him for a full season again.
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mcsorleyfan Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 12:52 pm
@KC23, I did the same; not enough info to reward or criticize for.
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I say give him one more shot. Our discard pile does have some players.
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Should have an incomplete grade on there for Parse.
I didn’t vote because there’s not enough to go on.
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Parse has potential no doubt but he has to get healthy first. Trust issues can come into play here as he clearly was not ready to return to the lineup in the playoffs despite telling managment he was. You have to be completely honest with your team regarding your health & ability to play. Hopefully the hip issue will be fully healed by training camp and we will get a better look at him.
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The Kings missed in their attempt at landing high-profile free agent Ilya Kovalchuk, and their fallback option was Parse…….HA HAHAHAHHA
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Dominick Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
@henry, Parse was already there regardless. Still made me laugh though.
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coach put him in a position to fail..just like king..he should ve come back on the 4 line
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Parse gets an F for this season, even though it wasn’t really his fault.
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Best natural scorer on team?
Just a little incredulous at this description. I like Parse, he works hard, and has heart. But he has never scored more than 24 goals in ANY season (24 goals in 40 games for the Univ. of Neb was the best I could find).
In 08/09 he played in 75 games and scored 15 goals, and in 09/10 he played in 63 games and scored…15 goals.
I asked about him in the Open Forum questions previously (thanks for the response Rich), but just as a comparison, Bud Holloway scored 43 goals in 70 games in the 07/08 WHL season, 21 goals in 61 games in 08/09 (played 38 games of those games for Manchester), 26 goals in 91 games in 09/10, and 35 goals in 82 games this past season (for Manchester).
I’m not saying Holloway is the answer necessarily, just trying to point out why I find the Parse comments a little hard to understand.
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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
@ForumFan, Im not sure why Parse gets thats title either. Interstinng to say the least. Its nice to see the #’s, thanks!
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7holesniper Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
@ForumFan, Goal scorers are usually strong on the puck, i.e. penner, kopitar, brown. I didnt get to see him much but he definitely looked comfortable carrying the puck. Its just that swagger that goal scorers have that he carries himself with, the way they skate and carry the puck. So he looks like a goal scorer, he has some speed, now waiting on a full season for results.
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5buckcolonnadeticket Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
@ForumFan,
24 goals in 40 games = how many goals in 82 games?
As for 15 goals in 63 games, with what, his 2 minutes of ice time per game?
His production was #3 on the team for all forwards!
This guy is a natural scorer and anyone who gave him less than a C for essentially a PPG effort during an injured season is out of their minds.
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ForumFan Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 2:44 pm
@5buckcolonnadeticket,
I’m not being critical of Parse in this comment, merely trying to understand the ‘best natural goal scorer on the team’ label. I didn’t give Parse any kind of grade for the past season, because he didn’t play.
As far as scoring 24 goals in 40 games, that was for the University of Nebraska several years ago, which I assume you would agree is many levels below the NHL level. Do you think Parse is a 50 goal scorer in the NHL?
Just curious.
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Belexes Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
@ForumFan,
You’re very accurate in your wondering about these dubious lofty titles given to Parse. He is at best an average goal scorer, and nobody’s top sniper. His lone goal this year was a pass by Pat Marleau that bounced off the back of Parses leg and caromed past an unsuspecting goaltender.
I see this guy as the Forrest Gump of the team. He’s been on the ice for some reasonable success, but is still trying to figure out what happened.
wes Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
@ForumFan, When a guy’s playing college or junior hockey (because he’s a kid), you can only compare him to the kids he’s playing with/against. Nothing demands that he can only be that kid (if it did, who would ‘grow up to play in the NHL’)?. Your question is a simple one, but its seeming inferences are also also non sequiturs.
“50 goal scorer in the NHL”? Subtract goaltenders, and about 700 guys played in the NHL this past season. 1 of them, exactly _1_ of them, scored 50 goals. 4 others scored 40. 1 in nearly 150 scored 40. “Do you think Parse is a 50 goal scorer in the NHL?” is really just hyperbole, even if smack-talkers (Belexes?) and the guys voting Fs in these player appraisals are smitten with it.
Perhaps you’re just curious, but let’s keep it real.
Belexes Reply:
May 7th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
@Wes,
Let’s wait for him to be a 20 goal scorer in the NHL before we talk about being a 40, or 50.
“The Kings missed in their attempt at landing high-profile free agent Ilya Kovalchuk, and their fallback option was Parse, a former sixth-round draft pick with one partial NHL season under his belt”
This line is what drives me nuts about the Kings. We don’t get the big fish so we settle for a 6th rounder with a partial season under him. Was there really no other option?
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Token Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
@concussionman02, Yeah, that Frenchie, Luc whatever his name was, also drafted high and he sucked!
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concussionman02 Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
@Token, I think you are missing the point because I am not knocking Parse. The point is if you are trying to become a serious contender and you are chasing the top free agent in Kovi, once you don’t get him are there no other talented options between Kovi and an unproven Scott Parse. I am not saying that Parse will never be something in the NHL or on the Kings. What I am saying is that it is a long way to settle from the person you were persuing in Kovi to fill that roll with Parse.
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Belexes Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
@Token,
Yeah, the 6th round is usually where the HOF’rs hang out right? Concuss is correct in his assesment. The Kings had no plan B, and it really hurt their chances for success.
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tornado12 Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
@Belexes, i think their plan B was Fro, but he didnt want to wait and took it personally. When he signed elsewhere they dropped to plan X, which was Poni, we all know how that panned out!
Parse hate is stupid. Based on what I’ve seen, and granted it’s been spotty due to injury, I agree with the management assessment. Never mind that we wasn’t quite up to his playoff return, I see him conservatively as a potential 20-25 goals if he turns in his first full season. There’s potential for more. He’s a good skater that can force the issue offensively. Ryan Smyth had some nice little hot streaks, but those five games Parse played in November were as good of a 5 game sequence as they got all year at left wing. +5 in five games, and although the sampling is way too small to project onto an 82 game schedule, if you go ahead and do it anyway, Parse would have been the team’s second leading scorer.
Just asking the sniveling haters to watch this guy turn in 20-30 healthy games before they swagger forth with their judgments.
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Belexes Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
@wes,
I’m pretty sure that Clifford’s playoff performance and his 3 goals in 5 games were a little more substantial. Nice try though…
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Player-X Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 8:25 pm
@Belexes, zing-a-doodle, snap!
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wes Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 11:16 pm
@Belexes, Nice try? Wasn’t ‘trying’ anything. Parse hate is stupid. Nice post season games from Clifford doesn’t change that.
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We really do have a mediocre group of forwards…..Uggh!
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