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Flames Recall Top Prospect from OHL

The Calgary Flames recalled their top prospect from the OHL with several remaining regular season games.

Jacob Punturi

Jun 28, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Zayne Parekh is selected by the Calgary Flames with the 9th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft at The Sphere. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Jun 28, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Zayne Parekh is selected by the Calgary Flames with the 9th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft at The Sphere. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
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The Calgary Flames are fighting for their playoff lives and will bring in a top organizational prospect to help. The team announced they recalled top defensive prospect Zayne Parekh from the Ontario Hockey League's Saginaw Spirit.

The arrival of the former Flames first-round pick is music to the ears of Calgary fans. He just finished an incredible post-draft season in the OHL, scoring 33 goals and 74 assists for 107 points in just 61 games. The 19-year-old has been on a tear over the last few months and it only reaffirmed Hockey Canada's mistake in not selecting him to Canada's roster at the 2025 World Junior Championship.

What is so interesting and unusual about this is the timing. Most teams will allow their rookies with junior eligibility to play the beginning of the season with the team before being returned. It's a move that maneuvers around burning a year off their entry-level contract. But it doesn't stipulate when those games happen. If Parekh plays less than nine regular season games, it will not burn a year off his contract. It's a possibly brilliant move by the Flames management team.

It's also possible that they prefer he gets time to practice with the NHL team and in Calgary's facilities, and he never gets into a game. The Flames are, after all, in the middle of a Wild Card race in the Western Conference. Is inserting a rookie with no NHL experience the best lineup decision with every point needed? There's no doubting how skilled Parekh is and he will likely be the Flames' next number one defender, but is this the time to throw him into the fire? That's the big question facing Calgary.

What we know for sure is Parekh is on his way to Calgary. Whether or not he debuts is up in the air, but the Flames' top prospect is officially heading to the NHL with a ton of excitement and expectations.

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Jacob Punturi
JACOB PUNTURI

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