Parker will combine with in-arena host Michaela Johnson to form the first all-woman public address tandem in Bruins history on Saturday when she works the game between the Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NESN, FS-O, NHL.TV).
With both their regular PA announcer Jim Martin and backup John Dolan unavailable for the game, the Bruins thought they could do something a little different and celebrate the NHL and NHLPA's
Hockey is for Everyone
and
Gender Equality Month
initiatives at the same time, so they reached out to Parker last week.
"My first thought was that I'm surprised that a woman has never done it," Parker said. "Why did they wait so long? Because there's so many awesome, powerful women at the Garden.
"I'm happy to break the mold and maybe it will bring in some fantastic women into that position, here and there."
But she's pleased that she can take the reins and become the first.
She knows that while women still have a long way to go in the sports world, they've also come a long way. She recalled her first assignment with the Boston Celtics back in the mid-1990s, while she was working for NESN.
"Red Auerbach wouldn't let me into the locker room," Parker said, of the legendary Celtics coach, general manager, and team president. "So I had to fight my way in."
Parker, who worked as a NESN SportsDesk anchor for 21 years, is the founder and host of "Outside the Fame," a NESN show that features former professional athletes.
While Parker is a veteran of sideline reporting, she hasn't worked the PA system in her career, so there will be a slight learning curve. But she's up for the challenge.
"It'll definitely be a little bit of a twist, but I feel like I won't have to think on the spot as much as I do with what I normally do because it's scripted out and it's got to be timed perfectly," Parker said, laughing. "I'll be told when to say what."
She got the call from the Bruins on March 8, International Women's Day, which Parker found particularly appropriate. She knows that there are still barriers for women in the sports world, some of which she encountered in developing "Outside the Fame," but she's continued to watch more and more women get involved at every level in sports, from reporting to coaching to officiating to playing.
"Obviously we are capable and we are knowledgeable," Parker said. "It's just a matter of getting the opportunity."
On Saturday, Parker gets another one. She's more than happy to take it. And she's hoping there will be some girls in the crowd at TD Garden hearing her voice and believing that they, too, could hear their own voices at an NHL arena someday.
