Players

Getting to know… Parker Milner

via Sarah Hobday

Who is Parker Milner? To Washington Capitals fans he is a nobody. To Hershey Bears he is a third goalie. To South Carolina Stingrays fans, he is everything. This season, Milner was rewarded with his first NHL contract and was called up to the Capitals on Sunday.

Milner, 28, is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa and spent four seasons at Boston College, winning two national championships,  before turning pro. His junior season, Milner went 29-5-0 in 34 games. He had a GAA of 1.66 with a .937 and three shutouts.

Upon graduation, Milner spent his first of his six professional seasons with the Stockton Thunder (ECHL) and Bridgeport Sound Tigers. In 2016-17 Milner joined the South Carolina Stingrays.

That season, Milner went 26-14-2 in 43 games with the Stingrays. He also appeared in five games with the Bears going 3-2-0.

The 2017-18 season was a great one for Milner. He was named the ECHL’s Goaltender of the Year award after posting a 28-7-3 record with a 1.86 GAA and a .929 save percentage. This season, he posted a 19-17-3 with a 2.95 goals against average and a .912 save percentage in 40 games with the Stingrays. Additionally, he recorded a 2.74 goals against average and a .914 save percentage in South Carolina’s opening round loss to the Orlando Solar Bears in the 2019 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Milner appeared in three games for Hershey this season, recording a 2-1-0 record with a 2.28 goals against average and a .931 save percentage.

The Capitals signed Milner a one year entry level contract on the day of the NHL deadline as insurance, in case of injuries.

“It was a nice mid-year surprise,” Milner told Caps Outsider at the end of March.  “I’ve never been on an NHL deal.”

Milner has been with the Capitals organization since the 2016-17 season and has spent the early portions of training camp with the team.

“It’s nice being a minor league player, [and] feeling like you are treated just like everyone else when you’re up there with them,” Milner said.  “Thought it was really that they did that for me.”

As how the contract came out, Milner said that it “kind of came out of the blue.”

“Pretty cool thing that they did [this]. They could have grabbed somebody from college or done some other things,” Milner said of getting a contract. “Credit to them for giving me that chance.”

Milner has 29 career AHL games with Hershey, Bridgeport, and Iowa under his belt.  He has a 12-12-1 record to go along with a 3.14 goals against average and an .899 save percentage.

Brandon Alter

Brandon Alter covers all three teams in the Washington Capitals Organization. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in May of 2021.

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