Parkinson gets the start in Season Home Opener Friday!

He is tall and has a very high ceiling and when the puck drops on Friday evening at the Panorama Recreation Centre at 7:30 pm, the lanky 17-year-old Shawn Parkinson will be front and centre minding the net for the Peninsula Panthers. 

Parkinson made the Club as a 16-year-old last season and that was unusual in itself.  Hockey Canada had mandated that only two 16-year-old players can be carded on any Junior A or Junior B Team in the Country.  For a goaltender to be one of the two is something that almost never happens.

Parkinson just returned to the Panthers on Monday night, the same night that Head Coach Brad Tippett arrived in Victoria via Regina.  The goaltender had been in a battle with two veterans on the BCHL's Victoria Grizzlies and although he did not crack the lineup, his future is brilliant.

Tippett held a great week of practice and the size and talent of the Panthers' stopper did not go unnoticed. 

"Shawn is a very big, veteran goalie who is also very hungry.  He understands the game and will be a huge advantage to our young defensemen in helping them read
forechecking pressures. I’m not worried about the crease," said the Bench Boss.

The former WHL Head Coach and General Manager was also pleased with some of the veterans he was putting through the paces this week. 

"The leadership group is emerging.  I am impressed with not only their ability to help the younger guys, but mostly their willingness to do so."
 
I’m looking forward to seeing how this group comes together.  Things are usually a little scrambly early in any season.  I expect the same.  What we have been trying to teach is just “DO YOUR JOB.”

That simple motto seems to be an easy one to follow however, it's not so easy in the face of an emotional game.  But Tippett's group is poised to open the season tomorrow night when the curtain lifts on the 2016/17 campaign.  And look for an extremely young but talented group to race up and down the ice doing what they are asked to do and nothing more.  With all things being equal, hope is that the result will be a "W" for Parkinson and the rest of his Panthers mates right at home in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre.