Parker played junior hockey for the
Peterborough Petes after the team relocated from his home town of
Kitchener in 1956. Parker's final season with the team saw the Petes finish in last place in the
OHA. Two years later Parker was recruited by
George Menard to St. Lawrence and he began playing with the varsity team in 1959. In his first season with the team, Parker helped the saints defend their
Tri-State League championship and return to the
NCAA Tournament. The next season Parker became a star for the team, becoming an
All-American for the team during its third consecutive league championship. In the national tournament, St. Lawrence won its first semifinal game in its sixth appearance and advanced to the first championship game in program history. Unfortunately, Parker's team faced an overwhelming
Denver squad and lost by the largest margin of any championship game (as of 2020) 2–12. In Parker's senior season the Saints joined with 27 other teams to form a new conference,
ECAC Hockey and finished 10th in the standings. The team was included in the 8-team postseason tournament because they were ranked higher due to their more arduous schedule and were seeded 4th in the championship. After easily defeating
Boston College in the quarterfinals, the Saints played a very strong Harvard team and stormed to a 6–5 victory after finding themselves down 1–4 in the first period. The Larries continued the strong play against
Clarkson in the title match and won 5–2. parker was named to the inaugural
All-Tournament Team and was selected as the first
Most Outstanding Player. The championship gave St. Lawrence a fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, the longest streak in program history (as of 2020). There was hope that the team could improve on their second-place finish the year before but the Larries reverted to type and lost both tournament games to finish in 4th-place. Parker finished his final season in
Canton with a second All-American selection on top of being named as the
Most Outstanding Defenseman in ECAC Hockey. Parker continued his playing career after graduating, appearing briefly for the senior
Kingston Frontenacs. In 1963 he joined the professional ranks fully, playing on two teams over three seasons in the
Eastern Hockey League. After retiring in 1966 he was inducted into the St. Lawrence Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 for his excellence as a baseball player as well as on the ice. ==Career statistics==