Last Monday, Hockey Canada unveiled the 32 players invited to try out for their roster for the upcoming World Junior Championships.
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10 defencemen were invited to selection camp. Calgary Flames prospect Zayne Parekh, the reigning Canadian Hockey League defenceman of the year, was not among them.
A few days later, when it became apparent that Kamloops Blazers defender Harrison Brunicke wouldn&#8217;t be able to participate in the camp, Hockey Canada made a call to Parekh. <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/flames-zayne-parekh-using-original-world-juniors-snub-as-motivation">Based on what we&#8217;re hearing out of the first few sessions of camp, he seems pretty intent on making the most of this second chance</a>.
Over at Daily Faceoff, our pal Steven Ellis dug into Parekh&#8217;s situation.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
After originally being left off Canada&#39;s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldJuniors?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldJuniors</a> camp roster, Calgary Flames prospect Zayne Parekh is making it his mission to make the main group when the roster is finalized later this week.
For <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyFaceoff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DailyFaceoff</a>:<a href="https://t.co/q0ylP1HigZ">https://t.co/q0ylP1HigZ</a>
&mdash; Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEllisHockey/status/1866929990643646516?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Here&#8217;s a snippet of Ellis&#8217; deep dive on the Flames&#8217; defensive prospect:
<blockquote>
At first glance, most were shocked not to see Parekh even invited to camp. He was selected ninth overall just a few months back and has played for Hockey Canada at various events. But many scouts saw the backlog of puck-moving defenders – including a few older, more experienced options – and wondered where the fit would be.
The surplus of puck-movers included Tanner Molendyk and Sam Dickinson. There’s plenty of power-play stalwarts, too. It almost made Parekh a bit redundant, even if the pure talent has always been there. You saw the skill with the puck from the get-go as an OHL rookie in 2022-23. He had 21 goals as a 16-year-old – it was the most goals scored by a U-17 defenseman in OHL history, besting the likes of Ryan Ellis and Jakob Chychrun
</blockquote>
A little later in the piece, after Ellis framed up some of the potential concerns about Parekh&#8217;s game, Parekh is quoted responding to them:
<blockquote>
“(The coaching staff) knows what I’m capable of, they know I play with the puck, they know I’m a skilled player,” Parekh said. “It’s kind of showing them the off-puck, tight gaps. I know I’m capable of that.”
“If I outperform some of the other players here and don’t give the option to not take me on the team, I’ll put myself in a good position (to make the final roster). I’m confident in my ability. I’m confident in the player I am.”
</blockquote>
Parekh had a flat-out phenomenal 2023-24 season, culminating in a Memorial Cup, a ton of hardware, and being made the ninth overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft by the Flames. If he can have a strong week at Canada&#8217;s selection camp, he&#8217;ll have a chance at more hardware at the World Juniors.
<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/flames-zayne-parekh-using-original-world-juniors-snub-as-motivation">Head on over to Daily Faceoff to check out Ellis&#8217; full examination of Parekh&#8217;s situation</a>.

Last Monday, Hockey Canada unveiled the 32 players invited to try out for their roster for the upcoming World Junior Championships.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>
10 defencemen were invited to selection camp. Calgary Flames prospect Zayne Parekh, the reigning Canadian Hockey League defenceman of the year, was not among them.

A few days later, when it became apparent that Kamloops Blazers defender Harrison Brunicke wouldn't be able to participate in the camp, Hockey Canada made a call to Parekh. <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/flames-zayne-parekh-using-original-world-juniors-snub-as-motivation">Based on what we're hearing out of the first few sessions of camp, he seems pretty intent on making the most of this second chance</a>.

Over at Daily Faceoff, our pal Steven Ellis dug into Parekh's situation.

https://twitter.com/SEllisHockey/status/1866929990643646516

Here's a snippet of Ellis' deep dive on the Flames' defensive prospect:
<blockquote>
At first glance, most were shocked not to see Parekh even invited to camp. He was selected ninth overall just a few months back and has played for Hockey Canada at various events. But many scouts saw the backlog of puck-moving defenders – including a few older, more experienced options – and wondered where the fit would be.
The surplus of puck-movers included Tanner Molendyk and Sam Dickinson. There’s plenty of power-play stalwarts, too. It almost made Parekh a bit redundant, even if the pure talent has always been there. You saw the skill with the puck from the get-go as an OHL rookie in 2022-23. He had 21 goals as a 16-year-old – it was the most goals scored by a U-17 defenseman in OHL history, besting the likes of Ryan Ellis and Jakob Chychrun
</blockquote>
A little later in the piece, after Ellis framed up some of the potential concerns about Parekh's game, Parekh is quoted responding to them:
<blockquote>
“(The coaching staff) knows what I’m capable of, they know I play with the puck, they know I’m a skilled player,” Parekh said. “It’s kind of showing them the off-puck, tight gaps. I know I’m capable of that.”
“If I outperform some of the other players here and don’t give the option to not take me on the team, I’ll put myself in a good position (to make the final roster). I’m confident in my ability. I’m confident in the player I am.”
</blockquote>
Parekh had a flat-out phenomenal 2023-24 season, culminating in a Memorial Cup, a ton of hardware, and being made the ninth overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft by the Flames. If he can have a strong week at Canada's selection camp, he'll have a chance at more hardware at the World Juniors.

<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/flames-zayne-parekh-using-original-world-juniors-snub-as-motivation">Head on over to Daily Faceoff to check out Ellis' full examination of Parekh's situation</a>.

Flames prospect Zayne Parekh is motivated to make Canada’s World Juniors roster

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