The Flames may have struck gold with Zayne Parekh

After being selected ninth overall at the 2024 NHL Draft, defenseman Zayne Parekh is primed for a breakout rookie year in the 2025-26 NHL campaign.

From his fine edgework to his excellent instincts, Parekh employs a style of play marked by creativity and efficiency that will no doubt help in Calgary's quest to score more goals after finishing 29th in goals per game in 2024-25.

He already made his NHL debut at the tail end of this past season, becoming the sixth-youngest defenseman to score a goal in his first big-league game. Now, the 19-year-old has an incredibly realistic chance at becoming a member of the Flames' full-time NHL roster.

"Being around the guys last year, I kind of realized I'm meant for this, I belong. I fit in. And you’ve got to go from fitting in, to kind of taking another step there, being a guy that drives pace."

Zayne Parekh (vía Sportsnet)

A cerebral player, on and off the ice

In his personal life, Parekh graduated high school early at the age of 16 and began taking online classes at the Univeristy of Toronto by age 17. He spoke with Sportsnet extensively about how he's working to improve himself not just as a skater, but more importantly, as a person.

Parekh is just as precocious in his style of play as he is off the ice. His insane offensive upside was on display with the OHL's Saginaw Spirit this season, where he recorded an astounding 107 points in 61 games.

One of the first things that stands out about Parekh is his skating. He makes it look effortless as he glides laterally across the blue line, using his clean edges to gain a favorable position in the offensive zone and either finding an open lane for a shot or accurately setting up another player to generate a chance.

A lot of scouts use the word "deceptive" to describe Parekh's playing style. His exceptional vision allows him to make plays that catch the opponents off guard, and always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Before being drafted in 2024, Parekh compared himself to the likes of Quinn Hughes, Erik Karlsson, and Adam Fox -- all of whom are clean puck-movers with strong skating skills and an effective transitional game in between zones.

There are still big improvements to be made in the defensive zone, as is the case with many young offensive blueliners. FloHockey evaluated his play on a very high level, writing that "defensively there is plenty of work to be done, but odds are his team is going to have the puck a lot more than they don’t when he is on the ice."

Physically, Parekh says he is going to spend the summer bulking up more. Standing at six feet tall and 179 lb, he is not known for his grit or toughness, but that is another quality that will continue to get better as he trains and plays at a higher level.

Potential to become a top-pairing defenseman

The future is bright for Parekh, especially as he learns to play against older, more skilled opponents compared to those he was facing in the OHL. After an underwhelming training camp last season that left him feeling "humbled," Parekh is on track to stand out this year.

The Flames already have an established top pairing, and no one is expecting Parekh to walk into a role where he's going to play 20-plus minutes per night from day one. But down the line, it wouldn't be surprising to see him filling a top-two position for Calgary.

Parekh is NHL-ready and, given what the Flames need to improve from last season -- plus GM Craig Conroy's emphasis on letting the young talent flourish -- fans should be keeping an eye on this talented young defenseman this year and beyond.