Calgary Flames preparing to send Parekh to the World Juniors: report
It looks like Calgary Flames defenceman Zayne Parekh will get to represent Canada in the World Juniors after all.
The 19-year-old was a shocking cut at last year’s tournament, one in which Canada scored just 13 goals and wound up finishing in fifth place. Their lack of offence made the decision to cut Parekh — who finished 2024-25 with 107 points in the OHL — all the more surprising.
After making the Flames roster out of training camp this season, it looked as though Parekh may not get the opportunity to suit up for Canada in the World Juniors. That may not be the case, however, as Sportsnet’s Eric Francis has reported that the Flames are planning on loaning the right-shot blueliner to Canada for the chance to play on the international stage.
“The Calgary Flames will loan Zayne Parekh to Team Canada for the World Junior Championship next month, Sportsnet has learned,” Francis wrote.
The only question now is whether or not Parekh will be healthy by the time the tournament gets underway.
Parekh hasn’t played since Nov. 7 after being on the receiving end of a hard check from Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno. He continues to sit on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury and is being deemed week-to-week.
If the opportunity does wind up coming to fruition, it’s one that you can bet Parekh will be extremely excited for.
“It sucks that I wasn’t on that team,” Parekh said in an exclusive chat with Offside after being cut last winter. “I’ve always dreamed of playing in the World Juniors. [I have] it on every Christmas. Getting left off sucked, but I’m just trying to do my best and prove to the people around me how capable I am.”
Should he be healthy and ready to go, sending him to play in the World Juniors would be a wise decision from the Flames brass.
It’s been a tough rookie season for Parekh, who had just one assist in 11 games before suffering his injury. He was put in a tough spot this season, as he isn’t AHL eligible. That meant that the Flames had to choose between keeping him in the NHL or sending him back to the OHL, a league which he’s dominated for the past two seasons.
Getting to suit up against players his own age on the World Junior stage would be beneficial for Parekh, who has struggled at times in the NHL this season. It may even help restore some lost confidence and allow him to be better for the Flames over the second half of the 2025-26 campaign.
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