Fred Parker, former head coach of the Carleton Ravens varsity men’s hockey team, is keeping busy roaming the nation in search of new talent for the Calgary Flames as his lawsuit with Carleton moves forward.
The Flames hired Parker as a scout in August, following Carleton’s controversial dismissal of the head coach, who had led the fledgling Ravens to three consecutive playoffs runs.
Parker was not asked to return as head coach when the contract negotiations turned bitter. He is currently suing the university for breach of contract and libel.
The lawsuit is expected to go to trial, Parker said. Parker’s lawyer recently went through the discovery process with Carleton’s director of recreation and athletics Jennifer Brenning. Next, the university’s lawyer will have chance to question Parker for discovery this week.
Before joining the Ravens, Parker was an assistant coach with the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers for two seasons. Now, he said it’s “neat” to be working in the NHL.
“Everything is coming together so far,” Parker said of his new job.
His new role as a scout, in which he on the road a lot and not interacting directly with the team, is quite different from his bench boss job at Carleton.
“On a day-to-day basis, I’m not interacting with the guys. I used to be concerned with 23 or 24 guys on a daily basis. Their school, hockey, life,” Parker explained. “Now there isn’t all of that interaction.”
As head coach of the Ravens, Parker did a lot of scouting to build the newly revived varsity squad. Now as an NHL scout, he said he is looking at totally different players. For Carleton, Parker would be searching for over-agers, eligible for five years in Canadian Interuniversity Sport league at any age. For the Flames, he is concentrating on young prospects — particularly those born after Sept. 16, 1992.
Since joining the Flames, Parker has been in Penticton, B.C. for training camp, then to Saskatchewanand Edmontonon the hunt for prospects. Most recently, Parker was back in Pentictonfor the World Junior Challenge Nov. 8-14.
Next, he will be checking out games in Ontarioand Quebec. During his stop in the region, he said he hopes to catch the Ravens in action. Parker said he still follows his former team.
“I’m their biggest fan,” Parker said.
In his eyes, the Ravens “are in good hands” this year. They are now under the direction of Parker’s former assistant head coach Marty Johnston.
“They’ve got a crack at winning it,” Parker said.