Zayne Parekh is very, very good — and he knows it.

Parekh has 11 goals and 36 points in 28 games with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit this season after being selected by the Flames with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He’s a smooth-skating offensive defender who is widely regarded as one of the most talented players in Canadian junior hockey.

Last year, Parekh led all OHL defenceman with 33 goals and 96 points before leading Saginaw to a Memorial Cup championship. He earned a spot on the OHL’s first all-star team and was also named the CHL’s top defender, becoming the first player to earn that distinction in his draft year since Chris Pronger in 1993.

Somehow, all that wasn’t enough to get Parekh a spot on the Canadian national team for this year’s iteration of the IIHF World Junior Championship. The same went for fellow 2024 top-10 picks Beckett Sennecke (ANA) and Carter Yakemchuk (OTT). And with all three of them watching from afar, Team Canada suffered the most shocking defeat in the history of the World Juniors on Friday.

Team Latvia emerged victorious against Team Canada at the Canadian Tire Centre on Friday night, overcoming two one-goal deficits in regulation time and scoring the only goal in an eight-round shootout to win by a 3-2 final score. While Latvian hockey fans celebrated, onlookers in Canada reacted with disbelief, anger, or, in Parekh’s case, apparent schadenfreude.

Alongside Saginaw teammate and fellow Team Canada snub Michael Misa, Parekh liked an Instagram post by Sportsnet announcing Latvia’s stunning victory. He also took the time on Friday night to retweet videos of Norris Trophy winners Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar making impressive plays with the puck — as if to remind the powers that be that, sometimes, the best defence is a good offence.

Team Canada may be in the market for another defenceman in the coming days. Matthew Schaefer made an early exit from the loss to Latvia after crashing into the opposing goal on an offensive rush, which could open the door for Hockey Canada to activate Sawyer Mynio (VAN) from their reserve pool.

However, the option also remains for Canada to call upon Parekh, Yakemchuk, or anybody else they see fit if need be. Considering the extent to which Team Canada’s power play has struggled through the first two games of the tournament, there’s little doubt they could use a player of Parekh’s skill-set.

Parekh is a highly intelligent, quick, and dangerous offensive player who has always been one of the most talented prospects of his age group. He might march to the beat of his own drum a little too much for Hockey Canada’s liking, but there’s also something to be said for a player who knows what he can do and is confident about how he does it. That’s Parekh to a tee.

Team Canada will return to action on Sunday to take on Team Germany before concluding the preliminary round of the tournament with a much-awaited matchup against Team USA on New Years’ Eve. Keep an eye on FlamesNation for all the latest from Ottawa and Kanata.