Calgary Flames prospect Zayne Parekh has been snubbed again
The 2024-25 season was a remarkable one for Calgary Flames prospect Zayne Parekh, but it didn’t come without some disappointments.
The first came back in December, when the 19-year-old defenceman was left off Canada’s roster for the World Juniors. He originally didn’t even receive an invite to their camp, though he was later added as an injury replacement for a Pittsburgh Penguins prospect.
Leaving Parekh off the roster resulted in plenty of scrutiny, especially after the Canadians were unable to medal at the event. As it turns out, that wasn’t the last time for Parekh to be snubbed this season.
This afternoon, it was announced that London Knights’ Sam Dickinson had won the OHL’s defenceman of the year award. Many had assumed it would go to Parekh, who led all OHL blueliners with 33 goals and 107 points in 61 games this season.
2025 #OHLAwards 🏆
Establishing a new @LondonKnights record by a blueliner with 91 points along with a league-leading plus-64 rating, @SanJoseSharks prospect Sam Dickinson earns the Max Kaminsky Trophy as #OHL Defenceman of the Year.
DETAILS 📰: https://t.co/h9MwfYjNPs pic.twitter.com/4q3wYzBT1j
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 24, 2025
While the selection of Dickinson will certainly raise some eyebrows from Calgary Flames fans, the Knights defenceman is certainly no slouch. He was taken just two picks after Parekh at 11th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, and managed 29 goals and 91 points through 55 games this season. He was also a part of Canada’s World Junior roster, where he recorded two assists in five outings.
As nice as it would have been for Parekh to take home this award, there has been plenty of excitement around his career and future as of late. Making his NHL debut exactly one week ago, he was able to score his first of what should be many goals on the Flames’ back end.
ZAYNE PAREKH JOINS IN ON THE FUN! 🎉
He's also got his first NHL goal in his first NHL game!
🇺🇸: @espn ➡️ https://t.co/S5tPrXCygm
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/ZFjjBBR1m7— NHL (@NHL) April 18, 2025
Though there are still areas of Parekh’s game that need fine-tuning, he’s as good a prospect as the Flames have had in some time. Given his outstanding season in the OHL, it wouldn’t come as any sort of surprise to see him become a regular at the NHL level in 2025-26.