Zayne Parekh didn’t put one past Joonas Korpisalo on Remembrance Day, but he still managed to steal the spotlight.
The Calgary Flames defenseman turned heads in the game against the visiting New York Rangers when he danced through three “blue-shirts” players and tried to finish with a wraparound. Korpisalo got just enough of it to keep the puck out, turning what looked like a highlight-reel goal into a near miss. It was inches from becoming a goal-of-the-year kind of play, and even without the finish, Parekh looked every bit like a player the league has to start taking seriously.
After the game, Parekh walked through the sequence in his own words:
“Yeah, I got a little high and tried a little inside-out move. I thought he might stick with it.
Then I thought the play was going to be dead when I tried to slip the puck through a guy’s triangle.
The next thing I knew, I was in the slot. I was looking for a backdoor pass, but nothing was there, so I just tried to wrap it around.
Honestly, I think he made a lucky save on it. Yeah, I think I was laughing at the play a little bit, too.
Some of it seemed a little outrageous, but it was also outrageous that he managed to get his blocker on it.
So, kudos to him, I guess.” - Zayne Parekh
The Flames didn’t get the result they wanted, either. They dropped the game 3-1, and Parekh said the second period has been a problem lately.
“Yeah, it seems like our second periods have just been flat lately.
I don’t know if it’s a fatigue thing or what it is, but it seems like when we switch sides on the bench, we’re just not playing great hockey.
We have to identify what’s going on there. Maybe guys need some time away from the rink.
Tomorrow, we get some time to ourselves, get some energy back, and hopefully have a good road trip.” - Zayne Parekh
Even with the loss, Parekh’s stock keeps climbing. The Flames have been up and down over their last few games, and while the team has been inconsistent, the young defenseman has been building momentum in a way that goes beyond one flashy night.
He already turned heads on November 8, when he buried a nasty goal past former teammate Dan Vladar in a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. That wasn’t a one-off burst, either. Over the last month or so, Parekh has started to look more and more comfortable, like a player moving from “boy amongst men” to a full-time NHL-level talent.
Now the opportunity is even bigger. Kevin Bahl is out for the rest of the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon, and that opens a door for one of Calgary’s seven other defencemen to step in and make a case.
Parekh has wanted to move to the left side of defence, and he has already shown he can play both sides this past season. That makes him the most likely candidate to take Bahl’s spot as Calgary’s top defenceman.
The Flames’ upcoming California road trip will give the 20-year-old another chance to prove he belongs in that role.
In Other News...
Flames May Have Found A Game Breaker With One Huge Catch
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For the Flames, the intrigue is easy to understand, because players with that kind of ceiling do not come around often. The catch is just as clear: questions about his size, defensive game and attitude have followed him, along with reports of friction with coaches and teammates, leaving the bigger issue less about talent than whether a team can trust the rest of the package. [Read more 🡒]
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For the Flames, that makes Othmann more than just another addition to the roster mix. He comes in with the kind of motivation teams like to see from a player trying to reset his career, while the Rangers move on from a prospect their head coach, Mike Sullivan, still viewed as having real upside. The question now is whether Calgary can give Othmann the opportunity he felt was missing in New York, and whether he can turn that frustration into production. [Read more 🡒]
Adam Klapka Just Earned A Bigger Flames Opportunity
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Klapka has put together seven points through 19 games, and now he gets a chance to see whether that production can hold up with more ice time and some power play work. For Calgary, the hope is that a bigger role brings out even more of the same dependable shifts that have made him one of the clubs more reliable forwards so far this season. [Read more 🡒]