Jackson Parsons of the Kitchener Rangers named CHL Goaltender of the Year

Jackson Parsons has made history with the Kitchener Rangers. CTV’s Heather Senoran explains.

Jackson Parsons is the first Kitchener Ranger in franchise history to be named the Canadian Hockey League’s Goaltender of the Year.

The announcement was made Friday at a ceremony in Toronto.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Parsons told CTV News. “Couldn’t have done it without my teammates and the whole Rangers organization.”

He accepted the award after a season of great stats.

“Parsons was the backbone of a Rangers squad that notched its fourth 100-point season in franchise history in 2024–25, leading the CHL with 37 wins and setting a new Rangers single-season record with a 2.24 goals-against average,” the CHL said in a media release. “He also tied for second in the OHL with a .920 save percentage.”

On top of that, the 20-year-old led the league with five shutouts. Parsons had nine in total throughout his OHL career, just one shy of the franchise record.

In addition to CHL Goaltender of the Year, he was also named OHL Goaltender of the Year and OHL Overage Player of the Year. Parsons was the first Ranger to receive that honour in 34 years and was only the third goaltender to ever be named the recipient.

His journey with the team, however, was not always smooth.

Parsons was picked by Kitchener in the third round of the 2020 OHL draft and, after playing 22 games, he took over as the team’s number one netminder. But just five games later, he had a “season-ending” injury.

“My shoulder popped out and from there we decided to get shoulder surgery,” Parsons said.

He was enrolled at the University of Waterloo and his social sciences classes kept him busy through rehabilitation.

“The second I was out of my sling, I went right back up to Kitchener and made sure I was with the guys doing whatever I could, working out with just one arm… and going out on the ice with my arm straight down,” he recalled.

The 2024-2025 season was his fourth and final one with the Rangers.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently made a rule change making CHL players eligible for NCAA Division I hockey programs. The next day, Parsons announced he had committed to Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York and would play for their Golden Knight’s men’s hockey team.

Parsons said he will miss the city, fans and playing at The Aud.

“The Rangers organization did so much for me and the City of Kitchener as a whole,” he said. “There’s almost 8,000 people there every single Friday night. They’re big, they’re loud. It’s the best junior rink in all junior hockey.”

Brittany McLean-Lukasik and her husband, his billet family for several years, were there when Parsons received his award.

“He’s the humblest kid and just such a great all-around person,” McLean-Lukasik said. “We say that we’ve been completely spoiled with our first ever billet.”

Parsons, meanwhile, offered some advice for the next generation of goaltenders – don’t overthink it.

“Not lowering our confidence just because of the last play, looking at every play like a blank page and just going from there,” he shared.

It’s not a game, Parsons added, if you’re not having a good time.

“Having fun with it, all the confidence in the world, having some swagger, those are the kind of guys that I like to watch and that’s how I like to play.”

Parsons is excited for his next adventure and the chance to be closer to his family, who still live his hometown of Embrun, Ont.

“The parents are happy they’re going to be able to see more games.”

The goalie will, however, always be a Ranger for life.

“I’m definitely going to be catching some games at The Aud whenever I can,” Parsons promised.

- With reporting by Heather Senoran