Calgary Flames propsect Zayne Parekh makes his season expectations blatantly clear
The Calgary Flames kicked off training camp on Thursday as they prepare for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
While there are a number of intriguing storylines that surround this team, the player who has the most eyeballs on him is Zayne Parekh. The 19-year-old defenceman has a great shot at cracking the Flames roster should he impress Ryan Huska and the rest of the coaching staff.
“There’s a lot of pressure on me, I think a lot of narratives too,” Parekh said. “There’s a lot expected of me, but I’m just going to try my best to see what happens. Last camp I was coming in just trying to soak everything in. This time around, I’ve got to push for a job.”
Parekh, who scored in his only NHL game a season ago, is coming off a 33-goal, 107-point campaign with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. He seemingly has nothing left to prove in junior hockey, and made it abundantly clear he doesn’t want to be sent back this time around.
“Maybe I was more comfortable last year [in training camp] because the expectation was to probably end up going back to junior. I kind of knew that and was just trying to soak it in.
“I really don’t want to go back to junior this year.”
While it’s clear Parekh is aware he’s expected to push for a spot this season, the ninth-overall selection from the 2024 draft is aware that he’s still got plenty of time as he attempts to make his mark as an NHLer.
“At the end of the day, I’m 19, whatever happens, happens. There’s more to life than hockey. I’m just trying to enjoy it and have fun with it. I’m going to give it my all and see what happens.”
That line about him being 19 years old is key. This is still a very young player, and while it’s great to see the pressure he’s putting on himself, Huska is doing what he can to keep the young defenceman at ease in order to do what he does best.
“I don’t think Zayne should feel any undue pressure on having to be the saviour coming in and all of a sudden changing our team. That’s not it at all for Zayne,” Huska said. “Zayne’s a really good hockey player, and we’re really excited about his future. It’s our job as a coaching staff to help him along the way.”
As for his injury, which kept him out of prospects camp last week, Parekh told reporters that he’s feeling about 90 per cent right now in terms of recovery and believes he will be taking part in Sunday’s split-squad game versus the Edmonton Oilers.
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