On the ice, Jack Parsons is known for his ability to quickly move his 6-foot-4 frame from post to post and read and react to the play in front of him.

But when it comes to his development as a goaltender, the Cortland native is in no rush to reach the next level. After two seasons with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, Parsons decided it was in his best interest to play another season in the USHL rather than move on to the college ranks. 

Already committed to Providence College, Parsons knew that heading to college this season he would likely find himself behind junior netminder Philip Svedebäck, who has played bulk of the games for the Friars over the past three seasons. Rather than ride the bench, Parsons thought playing games against USHL competition would do more for his development.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing to take your time development wise,” said the Chicago Steel netminder. “My whole thing is playing games is the most important thing development wise. Practice is important but nothing beats game reps. And I don’t think playing a few games in college would be as beneficial as playing 20 or 30 plus games in the USHL.

“You can’t rush development. You need to take your time with it because I’d rather dominate the level that I’m at now than not be ready for that next level and go there and struggle.”

Based on how this season has gone, Parsons is backing up those assertions as he leads a young Steel team that is trying to claw its way into playoff contention. 

And with Parsons leading the charge, the team has been playing better of late. They have won four of their last six games, with their two losses coming against the Youngstown Phantoms in overtime and a shootout. 

For his part, Parsons has earned back-to-back Goaltender of the Week honors from the USHL. The accolades are the fruits of all the hard work he’s put in during practice and in the gym and is finally showing up on the ice every time he steps between the pipes.

“I’m really trying to step it up and trying to be a difference maker for our team every night in this playoff push and trying to get into playoff contention,” said Parsons, who has played in 26 games this season. “I have to give our team some momentum to get in this playoff spot.”

Parsons got his start in the game a little later than many kids growing up in the Ithaca area. His mother, Kelly, was the hockey fan in the family, growing up cheering for the Binghamton Devils.
 

He started out in a learn to play program before advancing to a Mite team. When it was his turn to guard one of the small nets that USA Hockey was promoting at the time, he found immediate success in goal and never looked back.

Over the course of time, the rest of the family, including his dad, Tom, and sisters Sarah and Liz, followed mom’s lead and grew to love the game. They became regulars at Cornell games, basking in the electric atmosphere inside Lynah Arena, which has been the home to the Big Red for 68 years.
 

When it came time to choose a prep school, he headed south to Rhode Island to attend the historic Mount Saint Charles Academy with its rich history of developing some of the top players in the game. 

“The coaching and facilities were great,” said the 19-year-old netminder. “The amount of on ice time we got and all the training and all the work we got every day, I never regret going there. I would go back and do it over again. Just going there and visiting, it just seemed like the right place to go.”
Looking to his game to the next level, he signed on with the NTDP, where he was once again pushed every day to work hard and develop his game for the next level, which including backstopping the U.S. to a silver medal at the 2024 IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship.

In his three games Parsons posted a 2.78 goals-against average and proved to himself that he has what it takes to compete against the very best in his age group.

“You had so many teams and so many players that like have top NHL talent and are going to be top end NHL players in the future,” he said. “It just was another experience to fall back on saying I’ve had later in my career.”

Before any of that happens, Parsons is ready to show what he can do against some of the top collegiate hockey talent when he goes to Providence this fall, where he plans to study business management and finance. Both subjects should serve him well as he continues his path toward a career in professional hockey.

“Being able to handle your money and know what you’re doing with it is so important, especially in this day and age,” he said. “Even if I go into hockey, just being able to understand like what I’m doing with my money, investing in that kind of stuff, is so important.”

For all his travels, Parsons roots are still planted in upstate New York. He still loves spending time at his grandmother’s house in the Finger Lakes region and taking time to enjoy relaxing summers away from the mental and physical grind that comes with being the last line of defense with whatever team he’s on. 

“You can’t beat the Finger Lakes in the summer, in my opinion. All the beautiful scenery you have out there, even the cities are like beautiful,” he said. 

“I love going home in the summer because I kind of took it for granted as a kid. Seeing it from where I’ve been, you can’t beat it. Being able to go home and enjoying the weather every day, there’s never a bad day there.”