Zayne Parekh won’t participate in Flames prospects training camp for ‘precautionary reasons’

The Calgary Flames’ top prospect won’t be hitting the ice for the club’s pair of games against the Edmonton Oilers’ prospects this weekend.

On Wednesday morning, the Flames announced that blueliner Zayne Parekh won’t be participating in the club’s prospects training camp for “precautionary reasons.” On Tuesday, prior to the start of the Flames Foundation’s season-opening golf tournament, general manager Craig Conroy noted that Parekh had been dealing with an injury.

Here’s Conroy (via Flames TV):

You know, Zayne, we’re still working through with his injury from the summer. But he is skating. He’s going to skate today. So hopefully everything, by the time camp gets going here, he’s feeling good and ready to go.

Parekh was pulled from Hockey Canada’s World Junior Summer Showcase in late July for similar “precautionary reasons” due to a lower body injury. The Flames’ release announcing Parekh’s absence from prospects training camp also noted that he’s expected to be a full participant in main camp when it opens on Sept. 18.

A first-round selection by the Flames in the 2024 NHL Draft, ninth overall, Parekh was deemed the Flames’ top prospect in FlamesNation’s summer prospect rankings over the summer. And the reason for that is pretty simple: he’s really good at hockey.

• Parekh posted back-to-back 33 goal seasons, the first time an OHL blueliner has ever accomplished that feat (and the first time any Ontario junior blueliner has done it since Bobby Orr).
• Parekh posted 107 points in 2024-25, the first time an OHL blueliner has hit three digits since Ryan Ellis in 2010-11.
• While Parekh was “only” named the OHL and CHL Defenceman of the Year in 2023-24, he’s been a first-team all-star in both the OHL and CHL in each of the past two seasons.
• Parekh made his NHL debut at the tail end of 2024-25, scoring a goal in his first game.

Simply put: Parekh is an incredibly talented young player who’s expected to push for full-time NHL duty this coming season. It makes perfect sense to make sure he’s fully recovered physically before he takes a run at an NHL roster spot. Missing a couple prospects games against Edmonton, while disappointing for the fans who had hoped to watch him, won’t diminish his chances at making the Flames roster.

And we’re pretty sure that Flames fans will have ample opportunity to watch Parekh play over the next year (and beyond).

The Flames prospects play in Edmonton on Friday night before hosting the Oilers’ prospects on Sunday afternoon at the Saddledome.