In fact, the Los Osos High School graduate only had four shifts on the ice Friday night in his professional hockey debut with the Ontario Reign.
But he’s planning to make the most of it.
The Rancho Cucamonga native who grew up a fan of Tomas Sandstrom – and switched allegiances from the Los Angeles Kings to the Anaheim Ducks growing up because of it – had an assist during one of those four shifts, as the Reign defeated the Colorado Eagles 4-2 at Citizens Business Bank Arena.
“To be honest, I’m going to take whatever I can get here, and then I’m going to move forward.,” Parkhouse said after the game. “Not only are they helping me out by giving me the mentorship and being able to play, but they’re also helping me build a future and a resume. Like a big hockey resume. If I’m not here next week, I can thank these guys and turn around and they’ve helped me out. Or I’ll part ways, and I’ll be back at the camp next year.”
The opening on the Reign roster came earlier this week when C.J. Stretch was called up to the American Hockey League’s Houston Aeros – his first call-up of the year. Stretch became the sixth player from the Ontario roster on an AHL team at the start of action Friday.
Coach Jason Christie limited Parkhouse’s time on the ice, and paired him up with veteran players, including NHL veteran D.J. King during his limited action.
“He’s getting his feet wet,” Christie said of Parkhouse. “It’s a big step, coming from the school to here. It’s an opportunity with us being short-handed, and an opportunity to do it.”
Parkhouse took his first shift about midway through the first period, as the Reign spent early parts of the period killing penalties. Sitting there on the bench was tough, he said. And getting out on the ice … well, it could have been worse.
“It was real nerve-wracking waiting for the first one,” he said. “And once I got the first one, I actually went out there, and my heart rate was going so fast, that I toe-picked myself. I went to go to lay down to block a shot and I ended up going face first. Luckily the guy didn’t get it right in my chops.”
His assist came on the team’s fourth goal, a tally by Brady Calla that came from a play started from the Reign zone.
“Actually it started with a good breakout,” he said. “We talked about that we wanted to get the pucks in deep and charge in there hard, and that’s exactly what I did. I just went hard after the puck, and it ended up finding a couple of more sticks and in the back of the net.”
Parkhouse left home after graduating from Los Osos to play for the Helena Bighorns in Montana. From there, he went to Becker College, an NCAA Division III school in Leicester, Mass. At Becker, Parkhouse finished his senior year with 23 goals and 17 assists, and was named second-team All-Eastern College Athletic Conference. He left the school its all-time leader in goals (49), assists (66) and points (115).
He grew up playing hockey at rinks in Southern California, starting at Ontario Ice Center, then moving to Center Ice in Ontario. He played for the Anaheim Junior Ducks and the Junior Bombers before heading to Montana.
“No, I was ready (to leave home),” Parkhouse said. “It’s tough to leave such a warm and nice place, especially when you’re going to cold places. The transition was easy, because it’s what I wanted to do.”
Parkhouse grew up around hockey, as well. The family has season tickets to the Kings. And his father and brother are part of the off-ice officials crew for the Reign, something Branden did four times during his Christmas break.
But now, he’s on the ice, for the Reign. And he hopes that the rest of the weekend – the Reign play Stockton tonight at 6 p.m., then turnaround for a game at Stockton at 4 p.m. Sunday – will get a little easier.
“I’m going to be more comfortable,” Parkhouse said. “I’ll be feeling more comfortable with the guys, and them feeling more comfortable with me. Just that level of comfort now is going to be there, even tomorrow morning at practice.”
PARKHOUSE ADD: His professional debut brought phone calls for tickets from family and friends, he said. Though, mostly to his parents.
“My phone didn’t ring that much, but my mom and dad’s did,” Parkhouse said. “They gave out a couple of tickets that they could, and I gave out a couple that I could. But a lot of friends came, a lot of family friends, not my friends, but family friends, but they had to buy tickets.”
Including one fan that held up a sign congratulating him during warm-ups.
“I saw that, too,” he said. “It was a little bit of a surprise. It caught me off guard.”
CALL-UP SHUFFLE: While Stretch was heading up to the AHL this week, the Reign did get a little bit of help back, as goaltender Chris Carrozzi was returned from St. John’s. He started in goal Friday night, and was backed up by Dustin Carlson.
With all the moves, it’s led Christie to change up the Reign’s game-plan a little.
“Our schedule the way it’s been, we’re just coming out and simplifying our game,” he said. “Obviously we lost a lot of scoring recently. We’ve got to come out and change our style.”
The results have been there for Ontario, who has won four out of five since a four-game winless streak. And, as for all the call-ups, he is trying to remain focused on the players he has now, especially with the back-to-back with a rested Stockton team.
“The only thing we can control is how we play each and every shift,” Christie said. “We just have to make sure to tighten up. Stockton is a good team, and we realize that.”
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