Zayne Parekh Returns to Flames Lineup Looking Like Himself - And That’s Great News for Calgary
Eighty-seven days. That’s how long it had been since Zayne Parekh last suited up for the Calgary Flames, exiting a November 7 game against the Chicago Blackhawks after a heavy, clean hit from Nick Foligno.
On Monday night, the wait finally ended. Parekh was back on NHL ice, and while the Flames dropped a 4-2 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the real headline was the return of their promising young blueliner.
Let’s be clear - the outcome of the game didn’t move the needle much for Calgary. They entered the night well outside the playoff picture, and that’s not changing anytime soon. But in a season where long-term development is starting to matter more than the standings, Parekh’s return gave fans a reason to lock in.
And here’s the thing: he looked like Zayne Parekh again.
That’s no small feat, considering what the 18-year-old has gone through since that hit in early November. After recovering from injury, Parekh was loaned to Team Canada for the World Juniors, then sent to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers for a conditioning stint.
Across those 11 games - seven at the World Juniors, four in the AHL - he got his legs back under him. And on Monday, he brought that same confident, puck-moving style back to the NHL stage.
“I thought Zayne played well tonight,” said head coach Ryan Huska postgame. “He looked comfortable on the ice. I thought he did a good job.”
Parekh was slotted on the third defensive pairing with Joel Hanley and took on quarterback duties for one of Calgary’s power play units, skating with Mikael Backlund, Morgan Frost, Yegor Sharangovich, and Connor Zary. Aside from one turnover at the blueline that led to a scoring chance for Toronto’s Scott Laughton, Parekh was steady - and at times, assertive.
The coaching staff didn’t ease him in, either. Parekh logged 20:05 of ice time, with his minutes increasing as the game went on: 5:35 in the first, 6:30 in the second, and 8:00 in the third.
That included a late-game stretch where he stayed out for nearly two full minutes with Dustin Wolf pulled for the extra attacker as the Flames pushed for an equalizer. That’s a lot of trust for a rookie coming off a long layoff.
And Parekh? He felt it, too.
“That’s kind of the best I felt all year,” he told reporters after the game. “I just felt good with the puck.
That’s kind of the first time this year I really had some belief and confidence. I thought I was making a lot of good plays on the breakout and in the neutral zone.
When I was getting my touches in the O-zone, I thought I was being patient and not trying to throw the puck away.”
That’s the kind of self-assessment you want to hear from a young defender - not just feeling good physically, but mentally locked in and confident in his decision-making. And it showed.
If there’s a critique to be made, it’s that Parekh managed just one shot on goal, with five more attempts blocked by Leafs defenders. In a tight game, getting more pucks through traffic could’ve helped tilt the ice a bit.
But that’s a detail, not a red flag. The foundation - the skating, the poise, the vision - looked solid.
And that’s the key takeaway. Parekh didn’t just survive his return to NHL action - he looked like a player who belongs, and one who’s ready to start building momentum.
For a Flames team that’s shifting its focus toward the future, getting their top defensive prospect back and looking like himself is a big win, even in a losing effort. The next test comes Wednesday night, when Calgary closes out its pre-Olympic schedule with a rivalry matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.
If Parekh keeps trending upward, that game - and the rest of this season - just got a lot more interesting.