The Calgary Flames spent much of Friday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks without the services of one of their most dynamic young players. Blueliner Zayne Parekh left the game early in the second period after taking a big hit along the boards from Chicago forward Nick Foligno.

The hit occurred 1:48 into the second period. On the broadcast, Parekh was seen consulting with Flames head athletic therapist Kent Kobelka on the bench before heading down the tunnel towards the locker room area.

Foligno subsequently threw a big hit on Flames forward Connor Zary, leading to a fight with Joel Hanley.

With Parekh unavailable and Hanley and MacKenzie Weegar both serving fighting majors – Weegar had fought Alex Vlasic earlier in the second period – the Flames were left with just three available blueliners, so forward Joel Farabee had a handful of shifts playing as a defenceman alongside Brayden Pachal and Rasmus Andersson.

Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg reported following the second period that Parekh would not return to the game.

The 19-year-old Parekh is in his first NHL season following a sparkling run in the Ontario Hockey League that saw him accomplish a ton of impressive things. The 2024 ninth-overall selection by the Flames won the Memorial Cup with the Saginaw Spirit in 2023-24, was the first OHL defender in overall a decade to hit the 100-point mark, and he was the first OHL defender to score 30-plus goals in consecutive seasons. (The prior Ontario junior blueliner to have consecutive 30-goal seasons was Bobby Orr.)

Prior to Friday’s game with Chicago, Parekh had played 10 NHL games this season with the Flames, usually playing on the third defensive pairing and one of the power play units, and had posted one assist.

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