Boston Pride’s Mary Parker on her local roots and being back after COVID-19 canceled a 2020 title run
"Lexie and I have been playing hockey together over the years pretty much since we were 10 years old."
Even after the coronavirus pandemic forced Boston Pride forward Mary Parker into the “longest stretch of not playing a hockey game” that she could remember, the Massachusetts native said her recent return to the ice was as natural as “riding a bike.”
In part, it was due to the inevitable excitement of the moment. The NWHL organized a bubble season in Lake Placid’s Herb Brooks Arena, famous for being the site of the 1980 Olympic “miracle.” Games began on Jan. 23.
It was the league’s first return since COVID-19 forced a cancelation of the 2020 Isobel Cup Final in March (in which the Pride were slated to face the rival Minnesota Whitecaps).
Another aspect of quickly settling back in, Parker pointed out, was her years-long experience with several teammates, some of whom she’s been playing with for multiple decades (spanning youth hockey through the professional level).
But mostly, it was just because this has been Parker’s world for almost as long as she can remember.
“I have two older sisters and when we were growing up, my mom was a nurse, but she would teach figure skating on the side,” Parker recalled. “So right when we turned two years old, she put us on the ice as well.”
Eventually, she gravitated towards a sport that could accommodate the natural competitiveness with her siblings.
“I figure skated until I was about seven, and then my sisters and I all switched over to hockey and never looked back,” said Parker.
Though she was the youngest, Parker — now in her fifth year with the Pride — learned some valuable lessons.
“Having two older sisters that played, we’d play together all the time,” Parker remembered. “They definitely didn’t always go easy on me, but it’s something that I think benefited me in the long run.”
The foundation she set in her youth has carried into a career in the NWHL (now in its sixth season).
Parker was in the midst of her best professional season to date a year ago, totaling 15 goals and nine assists through 17 games as the Pride rolled to a 23-1-0 record. Then, with shocking swiftness, the season ended on the cusp of a possible championship as the world was engulfed by the pandemic.
“That week [COVID-19] was hitting the United States, it was a whirlwind of events,” Parker said, thinking back on the build-up to a championship game that never ultimately happened. “And then when they ultimately decided to postpone the game, and then cancel it, it was something that hit us with disappointment. We were super excited for the game, ready to go, we were playing a home game for the Isobel Cup Final, so that was something that would’ve been pretty awesome in itself.”
Quickly, the other part of Parker’s professional career was impacted as well. Like many NWHL players, she maintains a full-time job outside of her hockey career.
She obtained a master’s degree in financial economics from Boston University (following her undergraduate degree at Harvard) amid a prolific NCAA hockey career at both schools, and now works for a local financial services firm.
“My company shifted to working remotely, so kind of at that stage, hockey was postponed, then canceled,” said Parker. “I was just working from home, definitely fortunate that I had that ability to do so.”
It wasn’t until the fall that she was able to train with teammates again. Along with preparing for a new year, the Pride tried to accomplish the difficult task of turning the page from the unexpectedly abrupt ending of the 2019-2020 season.
But even after the long layoff, and amid the ongoing threat of COVID-19, returning to play with the Pride was accompanied by a sense of familiarity and fulfillment for Parker. She used teammates Lexie Laing and Jillian Dempsey as examples.
“Lexie and I have been playing hockey together over the years pretty much since we were 10 years old,” Parker noted. “We played on the same line at Noble and Greenough School. We also played on the same line at Harvard.”
“Same with Jillian Dempsey,” Parker added, “[I’ve] been playing on and off with her since we were 10 as well.”
The continuity is something she relishes.
“It’s pretty neat to still be playing with these great players,” said Parker. “It makes it a lot of fun.”
And as she thinks about her story — starting at such a young age — Parker says it’s one reason she’s proud to be a part of a professional league with a local team.
“When I was growing up, the team and the league didn’t exist yet,” Parker explained. “So my parents would take my sisters and I to the college games in town and be able to watch. But now we have the Boston team and the NWHL, so it allows the young girls to come to our games as well, and I think that’s really important.”
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