By Jeff D'Andrea

Parker impresses Sabres at development camp

Aug 4, 2011 | 6:47 AM

Prince Albert Raiders forward Jonathan Parker came into the Buffalo Sabres Development Camp as an undrafted, unsigned free agent, but came out of the camp with a contract and a good chance to start his professional hockey career.

At the end of July’s camp, Parker signed a property rights contract with the team that will keep him with the Sabres until the beginning of the season and allow him a chance to crack either the Sabres’ roster, or one of their minor league affiliates.

“To me, how I see it is that they like me a lot, they gave me a chance right now until the start of the season to work my way onto a roster so that is a great opportunity for me,” said Parker, who lead the Raiders in scoring with 45 goals and 86 points in 71 games last season.

Parker is eligible to return to the Raiders as a 20 year old next season and although he says he fully intends to make the Sabres organization, he would gladly play in Prince Albert for another year.

He said he has really enjoyed himself in P.A. since getting traded to the Raiders from the Seattle Thunderbirds back in the 2009-2010 season.

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“It became my home over the last year,” said Parker.

“I was very comfortable there, had a great billet family and it’s a great team and a great organization from the coaching staff all the way to the front office staff. Over the last few months of the season, our fans were really behind us, the community was behind us so it’s definitely a great place to play.”

Throughout the camp that took place in July 5-10 in Lewiston, New York, Parker said he was put on a line with some of the biggest named prospects the Sabres have to offer like Tyler Ennis, Zack Kassian and Marcus Foligno to name a few and said that was a pleasure in itself.

“There were some big names around me, I was given that opportunity… to skate around with guys that have been in the NHL for a few years now and to be successful at it was nice to see,” Parker said.

Before July, Parker had never been to a professional camp before and said the nerves hit him early in the week, but he eventually got more comfortable as the camp went on.

“I was really nervous the first day obviously, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Parker.

“I went in there, played my game and scored quite a few goals throughout the week.

“Basically I just worked hard, and coming in as a free agent, I had to outperform the drafted players. I was nervous the first day, but I scored just as easily in the camp as I have in the past and I felt pretty comfortable doing so.”

Parker will start competing for a spot on Sept. 18 at Buffalo’s main training camp and will also join the Sabres in the Traverse City Prospects Tournament, held Sept. 10-14 in Traverse City, Michigan.

The Raiders are in a very similar situation with fellow sniper Brandon Herrod, who could return to the team as a 20-year-old, but has been invited to the Phoenix Coyotes Training Camp, starting on Sept. 9. The Meadow Lake native had 68 points in 71 games for the Raiders this season and was named as the team’s playoff MVP with one goal, five assists in six games against the Saskatoon Blades.

jdandrea@rawlco.com