Calgary Flames 2025 Prospect Rankings: #1 Zayne Parekh

Parekh’s development so far

Parekh is the one and only true star-potential prospect that the Flames have. He has put up generational numbers in his three-year OHL run that few players have rivalled over the course of the league’s history. The sky is the limit for Parekh and his potential to be a true game breaker one day. All of the skill and ability is there, and he will be leading the charge on the Flames’ blue line for many years to come.

Parekh really came into his own in the 2023–24 season, where he led all rearguards in goals and points, and the Flames must have been thanking their lucky stars that a defencemen with his skillset fell to them at ninth overall. This past season, Parekh improved dramatically, but not only in the offensive category, but he made major strides defensively. It was one of the most impressive seasons ever seen by a defencemen in OHL history.

Parekh’s strengths and weaknesses

Like any young player, even a player of the caliber of Parekh, there will be major strengths in his game, but also some weaknesses that he will have to improve at to make the jump to the next level. So, let’s dive into what those are.

Strengths

Skating ability

The first thing you may notice when watching Parekh is the way he gets around the ice, how smooth he is, and how gracefully he skates up and down the ice. He is already one of the best skaters in the Flames organization, and while he may not be the fastest in a straight line, his edges are elite, and he can get away from the opposition or walk the blue line while using the ‘mohawk’ or by blowing by them down the boards.

His skating is everything you want in a top-pairing defenceman. He can walk the blue line like few can at his age, and he understands how to get out of tricky situations by using his feet to get to certain places on the ice. With the way he can move in transition and in the offensive zone, he will be a major cog on the Flames’ power play for many years to come.

Shooting

You don’t amass 87 goals in 177 games as a defencemen if you can’t shoot the puck. One of Parekh’s deadliest weapons is his release; he has shown it a ton over his last three seasons in the OHL, and it is one of the biggest reasons Parekh scores as much as he does.

A lot of new-age rearguards are no longer taking the booming slapshot from the point; many now are trying to use as quick a release as possible to funnel the puck through to the net in hopes of generating a rebound, or in Parekh’s case, finding the twine. His snapshot has become his go-to shot, and he has netted a ton of goals with it.

Whether it is from the point, off the rush, or in close, he finds a way to get it through with a ton of velocity, and he obviously found the back of the net a lot. He uses it as much as he can, and he shoots from everywhere. As the quarterback of the Flames’ power play for years to come, that shot will hopefully only get more dangerous as the years go on.

Hockey IQ

With all of the talent and skill Parekh has, his biggest strength may just be his hockey mind and his brain. When you watch Parekh play, he is always two steps ahead of everyone else. He knows which play to make before the puck reaches his stick. He knows where to be, he knows where the puck has to go when he gets it, and he knows where everyone is on the ice at all times.

There really never seems to be a time where Parekh is out of his depth, what he may lack in a bit of strength or straight line speed, he makes up for it with how well he reads the ice and his opposition. You can teach mechanics, and a player can always get stronger and faster, but you cannot teach the IQ that Parekh has. It is going to make him a very dangerous player over the course of his career.

Weaknesses

Defensive zone play

This is probably the only glaring weakness in Parekh’s game, and it really isn’t that big of a weakness. Parekh’s play on the defensive end of the ice can sometimes leave a lot to be desired. There are moments in his game where he is maybe thinking about offence so much that he sacrifices plays on the defensive side of the puck. In his draft year, especially, these mistakes were massive and usually ended up in the back of his own net. However, he has made major strides over the past year to get better in that regard. He is a much better player today than he was last year.

I know the sample size is only one game, but Parekh looked very comfortable in his own end in his one NHL game he played last season. I know that will be the biggest concern as he tries to make the Flames this upcoming season, but the only way to get better is for him to get that experience.

Parekh’s next steps

In September, Parekh will attempt to crack the Flames lineup and begin his NHL career this fall. I believe he will be given every opportunity to do so. He had a massive year after getting cut from the Flames last year, and he will have a chip on his shoulder ready to prove that he can play at the NHL level. As I mentioned earlier, Parekh looked like an NHL player in his one game last season, and that type of offensive ability will be needed on a team that had lots of trouble scoring last season.

There is nothing left to prove for Parekh in junior anymore. He has done everything a player can do, and going back to the OHL would probably hurt his development more than playing in the NHL and learning how to play the pro game. It will be tough and the Flames know that, but there are spots to be taken, and if anyone is going to storm into camp and rip a spot from a veteran, it will be Parekh.

So, do you think Parekh will make a major impact on the Flames next season?