Parekh is one of the most talented prospects in the sport and has the potential to be an offensive game-changer. He plays an aggressive and natural offensive style, where he looks to attack off the line into the slot or even the front of the net or below the goal line. He’ll also regularly involve himself in the rush much like a winger does, driving down the wall in control to challenge defenders and attack into his shot or create an odd-man rush. He’s extremely confident offensively and opens up his feet (where necessary) around the zone without going to his heel-to-heel by default. He has great hands and a casual-looking skating posture, which he uses to carry pucks with a visual ease and beat the first layer of pressure to get to his spots. He has excellent feet crossing over and falling onto his heels, but does lack pull-away speed in straight lines going forward. When the puck arrives on his stick, it just seems to stop and glue to him through his movements.

Carels’ production had a major uptick in his draft year to round out a game that already possessed an attractive combination of skating, strength and natural physicality.

He’s an all-around defenseman who plays the game firmly and directly in all three zones and on both sides of the puck. His game is more about instinct than being super cerebral, and he can be a little sloppy at times with his stick placement/closeouts/decisions on the puck, but he’s quite toolsy and looks like a pro in a lot of ways. He has a big, hard slap shot that makes him a threat to score. He sees the play well as a passer and can break it out. He’s a strong skater who can push pucks down ice and also open up and use his edges. He can defend physically and cuts off a lot of plays with his timing early when he’s at his best. He’s firm, with a wide gait, though he’ll occasionally get beaten one-on-one laterally. He’s not a dynamic individual playmaker, but he can move and carry pucks down ice, has skill and skating, walks the line well, can beat the first layer and can hammer it. His development will be more about cleaning things up than his actual tools. He’ll be a big part of Team Canada at next year’s World Juniors and could go one-and-done at North Dakota.