BLOOMINGTON - Even though he's knocking on the door of professional minor league hockey history, Bloomington PrairieThunder right winger Don Parsons refuses to step out of character.

He insists he's still the same kid from Boston, albeit a lot older and wiser, who became a rink rat at an early age and neber looked back.

And you believe him.

"When I started playing hockey my goal wasn't to become the all-time minor league goal scoring leader," Parsons said. "It's something that even a year or two ago wasn't really in my horizon. It just kind of snuck up on me.

"I play hockey because I love the sport. I love showing up in the locker room every day, hanging out with the guys, the camaraderie, the winning together, even the losing together. It's become almost second nature to me, and that's why I play."

The 39-year-old Parsons, a 17-year veteran, needs just five goals to pass former Flint coach Kevin Kerr's record of 677. With an average of 41 goals per season during his career, Parsons ranks 16th in all-time points scored at 1,294 (an average of just under 80 per season).

Parsons is also 47th in all-time assists with 620, and he is closing in on his 1,000th career game. He isn't showing any signs of slowing down, either, with a team-high 12 goals in 13 games.

"It's crazy. That's a lot of goals," said Thunder coach Jarrod Skalde. "Don's a few years older than me and I can't imagine going out there every day for practice and doing the things that are required to play at a high level like he does."

Thunder center Jon Booras is equally wowed by Parsons and considers it a "privilege" to play on the same line with him.

"He's a pure goal scorer, and that's tough to do over that many years," Booras said. "That shows the type of player he is every day and every game."

Skalde, who played 115 games in the NHL, was a teammate of Parsons with the Thunder for the first half of last season. While Parsons never made it to the NHL, Skalde said he shares a common trait with all the great goal scorers.

"Guys like that they just really want to score goals," Skalde said. "I don't know if it's something you're taught or whatever, but there are certain players who are so determined to score goals and they love to score goals.

"Don's one of those special guys."

Parsons, who also serves as a player/assistant coach and captain for the Thunder, admits it's been difficult to avoid the hoopla that has been steadily building as he approaches Kerr's record.

"I try not to think about it, but it's hard to avoid," Parsons said. "It hasn't taken over my life, but it's definitely sitting there in the background. It will be a relief (to break the record).

"I'm not going to say it hasn't been fun and it won't be a little bit of a hangover when it's all over and I'll be like, 'Where did that all go? I kind of miss that.' It's definitely an honor to be in the position I'm in."

Parsons has a good chance of breaking the mark this weekend, when the Thunder begins a three-in-three stretch with tonight's Thanksgiving home game against Kalamazoo.

He would prefer a few wins for his struggling team, which has lost six of its last seven to fall into the International Hockey League cellar.

"People that know me know it's obviously impossible not to think about the record, but I'd trade it for a five-game winning streak right now," Parsons said. "What's important is winning."

Family is also important for Parsons, who commutes to Bloomington on a regular basis from the Quad Cities where he lives with his wife, Kristen, and children Abby (age 8), Maggy (6) and Maddox (5).

"My wife is real supportive," Parsons said. "She's home taking three kids to school and picking three kids up, and in the meantime she's a special ed teacher. So her days definitely don't get any easier when I leave.

"Without the support of my family it would all be pretty hard to do."

Parsons has managed to avoid any major injuries during his career, which he credits to luck and a vigorous offseason workout regimen. And barring a major setback, he doesn't see his playing career ending anytime soon.

"I told my wife 12 years ago that was going to be my last year," Parsons said. "It's probably going to take something bad to get me out of playing hockey like an injury or something unfortunate.

"As long as my body will let me play and as long as I continue to contribute in the way I think that I should, I don't have any reason to stop playing. I'll never say this is my last year. All I'm going to say is, (Chris) Chelios is 46."

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Parsons watch

Bloomington PrairieThunder right winger Don Parsons needs five goals to pass Kevin Kerr and become the all-time leading goal scorer in modern professional minor league hockey. Here's how Parsons stacks up with Kerr and the other leaders entering this week's action:

Kevin Kerr (1987-2005)…677

Don Parsons (1991-present)…673

Scott Gruhl (1979-96)…663

Joe Burton (1992-2005)…601

Dave Michayluk (1982-97)…597