Bad news, everybody! Per an announcement from Hockey Canada on Tuesday morning, Calgary Flames prospect Zayne Parekh will miss the remainder of the World Junior Summer Showcase, hosted by USA Hockey.

Better news, everybody! Per an announcement from the Flames on Tuesday afternoon, Parekh has been withdrawn from the event due to a lower body injury. He’s being evaluated by the Flames’ medical staff, but he’s expected to be a full participant in training camp in the fall, which strongly suggests that his injury is minor.

A product of Nobleton, Ontario, Parekh was the ninth overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft and is perhaps the most exciting prospect in the Flames system – especially if you consider Dustin Wolf, Matt Coronato and Connor Zary to have graduated.

The 19-year-old Parekh has rattled off back-to-back 33-goal seasons with the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit, the first time any OHL defender has done so… and the first time it’s been done in Ontario major junior hockey since Bobby Orr did it in the old Ontario Hockey Association. He also had 107 points in 2024-25, the first time an OHL defender had hit three digits since Ryan Ellis did it in 2010-11. And then Parekh made his NHL debut, scoring his first NHL goal in his first NHL game.

Needless to say, Parekh is a really important player for the Flames and could be on the NHL roster as early as Oct. 8 in the season-opener against Edmonton. He’s highly-skilled, highly-motivated… and someone that really doesn’t need to be playing through any sort of minor tweaks or flare-ups of an old injury during a World Junior camp in July. Parekh’s reputation as a dominant junior blueliner precedes him, and we strongly doubt that his performance during the Summer Showcase would tip the scales for a Team Canada slot one way or the other.

Alas, Parekh’s summer camp is over. The next time we see him will be mid-September at Flames training camp.