At the end of July 2023, a young blueliner by the name of Zayne Parekh left home in Ontario to journey to Budapest, Hungary to prepare to represent Canada in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup as he began his draft season.

In the last 22 months, Parekh has won gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, put up 33 goals and 96 points in the OHL in his draft year, won a Memorial Cup, gone through the NHL Draft process, was selected ninth overall by the Flames, attended development camp, signed his first NHL contract, attended Flames prospect and training camp, played his first NHL pre-season games, put up 33 goals and 107 points in the OHL, then made his NHL debut and scored his first NHL goal.

Oh, and he celebrated his 18th and 19th birthdays and spent just two and a half weeks at home last summer during that whirlwind. So with a big off-season ahead of him and the opportunity to perhaps win an NHL roster spot in the fall, while Parekh is eligible to join the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers, the Flames have opted not to have him to so.

“Parekh, we’re not going to do,” said general manager Craig Conroy on Saturday afternoon. “You know, he’s played a lot of hockey. We’re going to get him going. And, you know, he’s talking about kind of getting focused like we’ve talked. And he didn’t get to train last year much. And this year, the focus is to get stronger, to come back and make a team.”

Speaking to the media earlier on Saturday, Parekh explained what he wants to accomplish this coming off-season.

“I’m going to be focused on everything,” said Parekh. “I mean, I’ve got to put on a lot of weight, a lot of muscle. So I’ll hopefully come back around 193-ish. But I’ve got to take some time off too. I’ve been going on it for two years straight since Hlinkas. So it’s been a non-stop kind of train here and a little bit of a grind for me over the last few years. But I’ve got a lot of work to put in.”

Parekh has had two fantastic last pair of seasons in the OHL, posting two of the most impressive offensive seasons in recent memory in that circuit. Heck, his back-to-back 30-goal campaigns haven’t been accomplished in Ontario major junior hockey since Bobby Orr, way back when the circuit was called the Ontario Hockey Association.

But even after a pair of very hectic, very productive seasons, Parekh remains hungry and focused on his goals.

“I don’t want to just say, ‘hey, Zayne’s on the team next year,'” said Conroy. “But like I told him, you’ve got to have a great summer, come into camp and take a spot and earn a spot. And he’s like, ‘OK, now I know what I got to do. So I’m going to have a great summer and I’ll see you in September.'”

“I’m looking forward to a really big summer for me,” said Parekh. “I’ve got to put in a lot of work. I’ve still got a long ways to go to make this team next year. The culture that’s here, it’s unreal. I’m looking forward to a big summer.”

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