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Two of the Calgary Flames&#8217; top youngsters have been given some recognition from our pals at Daily Faceoff.
<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/top-75-nhl-affiliated-prospects-in-2024-25">The esteemed Steven Ellis has compiled his annual top 75 NHL-affiliated prospects list</a>. Blueliner Zayne Parekh was ranked seventh while forward Matt Coronato was listed at 52nd.
The 18-year-old Parekh was selected by the Flames at ninth overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. He was simply dominant offensively during the 2023-24 season, leading the Ontario Hockey League in points by a defenceman en route to being the league&#8217;s top blueliner. He was also named the CHL&#8217;s top defenceman and helped his Saginaw Spirit win a Memorial Cup.
Here&#8217;s Ellis on Parekh:
<blockquote>
Parekh was a big pickup for the Flames, someone I think has real star potential. With the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, Parekh is coming off the third most productive U-18 season ever by an OHL defender, and he still has at least another year to go in major junior. There’s no reason to doubt that he won’t become the fourth defender in OHL history to break the 120-point barrier next year and become just the second behind Paul Reinhart in 1978-79 to hit 50 goals. Ryan Ellis is the only player since 2000 to register at least 100 points, doing so on the heels of a 76-assist campaign in 2010-11. Heading into the season, there were questions about whether Parekh tried to do too much with the puck and whether that killed him in his own zone. But he’s got the toolkit to make everything work at both ends, starting with his skating. Parekh isn’t an explosive skater, but he moves well side-to-side and can start and stop on a dime. He’s a manipulator offensively in how he makes you think he’s doing one thing before doing another, and he’s figured out how to use that to his advantage going the other way, too.
</blockquote>
The Flames&#8217; first-rounder from 2021, 13th overall, Coronato transitioned to pro hockey last season after two strong campaigns at Harvard University. Coronato didn&#8217;t have the smoothest season on paper, but he progressed quite a bit in all three zones and was a visibly more confident player on both sides of the puck during his late-season call-up.
Here&#8217;s Ellis on Coronato:
<blockquote>
After an explosive preseason put Coronato on the map early on, the winger was ultimately sent back to the AHL and finished with just nine points in 34 NHL games. Coronato had an excellent season with the Wranglers, registering 15 goals and 42 points in 41 games while bouncing around the two leagues. His time in the AHL helped him look more confident and dangerous once he got called back up to the big club, and that’s all you can ask for after jumping over from college. Coronato isn’t big, but he’s got some muscle, and he’s still learning how to use it to be more effective. It’ll be interesting to see if he makes the jump to full-time NHL duty this year because I feel like he showed enough down the stretch to warrant a closer look.
</blockquote>
We&#8217;ll see how Parekh and Coronato, and the rest of the Flames&#8217; rejuvenated prospect base, fare on the ice when camp gets going later this month. The Flames participate in the Young Stars Classic tournament in Penticton this coming weekend before opening main camp next week.
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This article is brought to you by bet365.

Two of the Calgary Flames' top youngsters have been given some recognition from our pals at Daily Faceoff.

<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/top-75-nhl-affiliated-prospects-in-2024-25">The esteemed Steven Ellis has compiled his annual top 75 NHL-affiliated prospects list</a>. Blueliner Zayne Parekh was ranked seventh while forward Matt Coronato was listed at 52nd.

The 18-year-old Parekh was selected by the Flames at ninth overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. He was simply dominant offensively during the 2023-24 season, leading the Ontario Hockey League in points by a defenceman en route to being the league's top blueliner. He was also named the CHL's top defenceman and helped his Saginaw Spirit win a Memorial Cup.

Here's Ellis on Parekh:
<blockquote>
Parekh was a big pickup for the Flames, someone I think has real star potential. With the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, Parekh is coming off the third most productive U-18 season ever by an OHL defender, and he still has at least another year to go in major junior. There’s no reason to doubt that he won’t become the fourth defender in OHL history to break the 120-point barrier next year and become just the second behind Paul Reinhart in 1978-79 to hit 50 goals. Ryan Ellis is the only player since 2000 to register at least 100 points, doing so on the heels of a 76-assist campaign in 2010-11. Heading into the season, there were questions about whether Parekh tried to do too much with the puck and whether that killed him in his own zone. But he’s got the toolkit to make everything work at both ends, starting with his skating. Parekh isn’t an explosive skater, but he moves well side-to-side and can start and stop on a dime. He’s a manipulator offensively in how he makes you think he’s doing one thing before doing another, and he’s figured out how to use that to his advantage going the other way, too.
</blockquote>
The Flames' first-rounder from 2021, 13th overall, Coronato transitioned to pro hockey last season after two strong campaigns at Harvard University. Coronato didn't have the smoothest season on paper, but he progressed quite a bit in all three zones and was a visibly more confident player on both sides of the puck during his late-season call-up.

Here's Ellis on Coronato:
<blockquote>
After an explosive preseason put Coronato on the map early on, the winger was ultimately sent back to the AHL and finished with just nine points in 34 NHL games. Coronato had an excellent season with the Wranglers, registering 15 goals and 42 points in 41 games while bouncing around the two leagues. His time in the AHL helped him look more confident and dangerous once he got called back up to the big club, and that’s all you can ask for after jumping over from college. Coronato isn’t big, but he’s got some muscle, and he’s still learning how to use it to be more effective. It’ll be interesting to see if he makes the jump to full-time NHL duty this year because I feel like he showed enough down the stretch to warrant a closer look.
</blockquote>
We'll see how Parekh and Coronato, and the rest of the Flames' rejuvenated prospect base, fare on the ice when camp gets going later this month. The Flames participate in the Young Stars Classic tournament in Penticton this coming weekend before opening main camp next week.
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Calgary Flames prospects Zayne Parekh and Matt Coronato listed in Daily Faceoff’s top 75 NHL-affiliated prospect rankings

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