It goes without saying, but sometimes it helps to say it: Zayne Parekh is really, really good at hockey.

Selected ninth overall in the 2024 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames, Parekh had a really strong draft season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit. He followed that up with a really, really strong post-draft season, scoring 30 goals for the second straight campaign and breaking the 100-point barrier.

He even made his NHL debut in the final game of the Flames’ 2024-25 season.

So given all that, it’s probably no big shock where Parekh is aiming for his immediate hockey future.

“Everyone knows that, for me, I’m trying to play in the NHL,” said Parekh after the first on-ice activity at Flames development camp. “So, I have a great support group and everyone’s pushing me every day. And, you know, I’m pretty hard on myself too. So, I’m going to continue to keep working. So, come fall, I mean, it’s far away, but, you know, I got to have a good camp.”

Parekh’s performance at Flames training camp last fall wasn’t great. He wasn’t all that bad, but he also wasn’t especially good either. But Parekh’s first audition for an NHL gig came during an incredibly hectic stretch that saw him play in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, play a full season for the Spirit (including appearing in the CHL’s Top Prospects Game), having a long playoff run including a Memorial Cup tournament win, then going through the NHL’s draft process, then appearing for Team Canada at the World Junior Summer Showcase.

After that sort of whirlwind of activity, anyone would have a tough time battling for an NHL gig, let along an 18-year-old.

“I didn’t have a lot of time last year to prepare for camp, and I was over my head,” said Parekh. “And, you know, especially when you’re kind of nervous and, you know, hopefully I don’t mess up or make a mistake. You’re kind of attracting those thoughts, and, you know, it’s got to come. So I think this time around I’m more confident. I mean, I got a taste at the end. I understand what it’s kind of what it takes to play in the NHL. I got a little grasp of it, so hopefully that’ll help.”

Flash forward a year, and Parekh has had some time to breathe with a much less hectic spring and summer than he experienced in 2024. Saginaw’s early exit from the OHL playoffs facilitated Parekh getting some time with the Flames, including making his NHL debut. Moreover, though, he had a chance to get to know the team’s veteran players and get comfortable in the NHL environment.

And you can discount Parekh’s Game 82 performance, including his first NHL goal, all you want, but he’s determined to use that experience as a springboard to a much more successful training camp in 2025 than he had in 2024.

“I think there was an opportunity last year too, but I wasn’t ready for it,” said Parekh. “I think at that time, being around the guys last year, I kind of realized, like, you know, I’m meant for this. I belong. And I noticed that kind of in the first couple days of practising with them. It wasn’t like, you know, too much to handle or anything. I belonged. I fit in. And, you know, you’ve got to go from fitting in to kind of taking another step there and, you know, being a guy that drives pace.”

“But, I mean, obviously I’m still young and it’ll come with time.”