The Calgary Flames are relatively well-equipped when it comes to high-end right-handed defensive prospects.

Between Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz, and Henry Mews, the Flames likely already have their top RHD of the future, as well as one or two more everyday NHLers at the position. They’re in a great spot.

But beyond those three players, the Flames only have one other defender under 25 in their entire organization who plays the right side. One! That would be Jake Boltmann, who is currently in his fifth year of NCAA hockey, and it would be surprising (if not shocking) to see the Flames sign him to an entry-level contract.

The Flames are extremely top-heavy on the right side. For all intents and purposes, they have no organizational depth at the position beyond those three blue-chippers. And that’s what could make them a natural suitor for Zayne Parekh’s older brother, Isa — who, as it happens, was just named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s defenceman of the week.

Isa Parekh is a 21-year-old defenceman at Bemidji State University who shoots right, just like his younger brother. Officially listed at 6’0″ and 153 pounds, he has a bit of growing yet to do before he turns pro, but he seems to have a bit of Zayne’s skill and skating ability and could, at minimum, help solidify the Flames’ depth chart.

Unlike Zayne, who was on the radar of scouts around the hockey world as a potential top pick for years before the Flames snagged him at No. 9 in 2024, Isa is a late bloomer who has followed a more circuitous route to reach this point.

The older Parekh is the top-scoring defenceman on a Bemidji State team that has generally struggled to put the puck in the net this season. His 18 points in 29 games are more than double the next-highest total of any rearguard on the team; Kirklan Irey, the Clippers’ leading scorer, has just 23 points in 32 games.

Parekh is older for a freshman but he’s one of the highest-scoring first-year defenders playing NCAA Division I hockey. He’s not all that far off from respected NHL picks like Tom Willander (VAN), Sam Rinzel (CHI), and Ryan Chesley (WSH), all of whom play for programs with high-powered offensive alignments. And the list of NHL-affiliated NCAA defenders of any age with fewer points than Parekh this season is dozens of names long.

Zayne Parekh didn’t have to deal with the COVID shutdown during his junior career. Isa did, and it took place right as he was breaking in with the OJHL’s North York Rangers. After playing in only 11 games with the team in the 2019-20 season, the older Parekh lost out on the entire 2020-21 campaign — and a full year of development time — due to the pandemic.

Upon the resumption of league play in 2021-22, Parekh managed 29 points in 50 games with North York. He went undrafted. The following year, he amassed 13 goals and 61 points in 54 games split between the Rangers and Georgetown Raiders. At that point, it was time for him to level up, so he made the jump to the BCHL and joined the Nanaimo Clippers for his 20-year-old season in 2023-24.

Between the end of his tenure in Nanaimo and the start of his college career, Parekh attended Flames development camp alongside his younger brother and earned positive reviews — including one from Zayne himself.

“So many people have counted him out,” the younger Parekh told Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson last July. “So many people have cut him from a team. So to see him here, in this spot, it puts a smile on my face. I mean, I hope he can reflect on this and see how far he has come, because it’s pretty impressive.”

The Flames have a long and storied history of signing, drafting, or trading for the brothers of star NHLers, all to varying degrees of success. Val Bure was one of the better ones; Rob Niedermayer and Gino Cavallini were okay; Freddie Hamilton, Richie Regehr,  and Staffan Kronwall were among the ones to forget. They even took part in the only brother-for-brother trade in NHL history, swapping Brett Ritchie for Nick Ritchie in a deadline deal with the Arizona Coyotes back in 2023.

Signing Isa Parekh when he’s ready to leave college would help the Flames address an organizational need. If he has even half of his brother’s talent, he’d be a great addition to the organization. And if anything, the Flames would just be adhering to their own long-standing tradition by uniting the brothers in Calgary. It just makes sense on a number of levels.

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