The Flames' handling/plan for Zayne Parekh..

[Roko]

Just let him play. Don’t baby him.
Give him regular minutes in regular game action and he will be fine.

Pair him with Weegar or Bahl and they will have his back. Don’t overthink it.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Parekh was on-track I thought up until he got hurt. He was even promoted to PP1, and was looking increasingly better.


I do think he needs more strength (not necessarily size, but he could stand to put on a bit more as a defencemen - Gaudreau didn't HAVE to battle in the corners, right? So for me, defencemen simply need more strength).


I believe the main concern I have had with his play in the NHL was his relative lack of awareness - he took some fairly substantial hits. Throwing him into another year of junior isn't going to solve it - I think he was 'fine' in the NHL, and improving. The Flames were playing lousy overall as well at that point, and I think if he was playing on the Flames instead of the WJC, he would have also looked visibly better (and I am not saying it was a mistake to send him to the WJC - it obviously was the right move).


If the CHL at least played less games and allowed for more training (like the NCAA), that would of course be optimal. Putting him back in the CHL seems more like wrapping him in bubble-wrap to keep him safe - he isn't going to learn to be more elusive there, or adapt to the NHL speed. The only really good landing spot would have been the NCAA. Now? I think the NHL is the best available option, and he just really needs to increase his on-ice awareness as he will become more and more a target as he improves. His teammates will have to help him out with that by being vocal.


The only thing that I feel is holding him back is the awareness component - he was on the receiving end of too many hits.

[gvitaly]

I think the plan for Parekh should be pretty fluid. As in his play would dictate the amount of games he gets to play at the NHL level.

You let him finish the conditioning stint in the AHL. It would give him another 4 games in the AHL. You re-evaluate then. In the meantime you work with the strength and conditioning coaches, as well as the skills coaches to improve his game.

Then you start by letting him and Brz alternate games in the lineup alongside Hanley. Each game he doesn't play is an opportunity to refine some of his defensive game in practice. If he improves, give him a bigger role, more ice time, etc. If he struggles, and he is on the receiving end of hard hits on a nightly basis, then you eventually scratch him for another 5 consecutive games and send him to the AHL for another conditioning stint.

Next year's training camp will decide if he plays in the NHL or the AHL, and a year in the AHL will likely do him some good.

By the end of the year Parekh will have something like 20-30 NHL games, 5-10 AHL games, and 7 games in the WJC-U20. The total amount of games would be pretty close to a full season in the NCAA. For example, Reschny played a total of 7 more games than Parekh this season despite the fact that Parekh missed ~2 months due to injury.

[PepsiFree]

Scratching Parekh for another 5 games just so you can send him down to the AHL is completely silly given how he equipped himself in the NHL. The overthinking some of you do is wild.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by flambers

Flames brass has destroyed his confidence

Its going to take a few games at AHL to try to get him settled

However if the plan is to have him only get minutes around the powerplay

That's a terrible plan

He should have been sent to junior

I'm starting to get Bennett and Sven vibes from this situation.

[Monahammer]

Let him make mistakes. Let him play. It doesn't matter if we lose every game this year, it might even be best, so let him play and make those mistakes up here. Ice goons around him if you have to protect him physically. Breathe confidence into him by showing him you want to build around him and players like him.

Any older players who disagree with this approach can hit the waiver wire at this point.

[Enoch Root]

Sheltered minutes - PP time and offensive zone starts. Being with the team, practicing everyday with them, working with the coaches, and spending time in the gym, will all have the desired effect over time. His play, and ice time, will steadily improve.

Fans need to chill on him. But I know, it's the Flames fan way, and the Canadian fan way, to be overly critical, and run players out of town, while simultaneously praising similar young players on every other team.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by edslunch

I'm starting to get Bennett and Sven vibes from this situation.

You don't think that's a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitle premature?

[Royle9]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Sheltered minutes - PP time and offensive zone starts. Being with the team, practicing everyday with them, working with the coaches, and spending time in the gym, will all have the desired effect over time. His play, and ice time, will steadily improve.

Fans need to chill on him. But I know, it's the Flames fan way, and the Canadian fan way, to be overly critical, and run players out of town, while simultaneously praising similar young players on every other team.

Problem is its not just fans, but some mainstream media too.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Let him make mistakes. Let him play. It doesn't matter if we lose every game this year, it might even be best, so let him play and make those mistakes up here. Ice goons around him if you have to protect him physically. Breathe confidence into him by showing him you want to build around him and players like him.

Any older players who disagree with this approach can hit the waiver wire at this point.

As nice as it may be to keep easing him in on the bottom pairing/PP, this is partially why I think Bahl is the perfect partner for him through the rest of the year. His new mean streak combined with his defensive play is going to help Parekh do his thing, there just has to be an understanding that Bahl is going to have to be ready to cover for mistakes or for when Parekh is jumping deeper into the play. Gotta build that chemistry by playing together though.

And yeah, if it’s really a problem, go out and pick up a goon to run around if guys start taking liberties. Other teams should know that if you take a run at Parekh someone is going to take a run at your top guy. Should quiet down some of the guys who seem to go out of their way to run him into the boards.

[activeStick]

I suspect they're limiting his minutes not only because they don't want him up against top guys but also because they're concerned about strength and trying to prevent injuries. I'm convinced it's most heavily weighed to preventing injuries. Parekh is quite slight compared to NHLers and because he also hasn't yet quite adjusted to the speed of the NHL game to slip away from forechecker hits, he's high risk of getting hurt every time he's hit.

Pat has mentioned a few times the teams plan to up his strength during the Olympic break, which I think will help but a few weeks won't quite get him there. He's too talented of a player to be concerned about ending up being a flop. He won't find his game this season I don't think, but he's a motivated kid and after an off season focusing on strength and getting 'meatier' I think he'll be a lot better next year. I'm really hoping they start him in the A next year for at least 2 months or so, then bring him up for good.

Edit to add that I do agree he makes mistakes on reads and giveaways, etc but I truly don't think that's too much of a concern even for the coaches. If I had to bet, I'd bet they're confident he'll be fine defensively. They're biggest concern right now in my view is his strength and ability to absorb/slip hits from NHLers.

[Roko]

Weegar makes tons of mistakes. It’s normal.
Winning doesn’t matter this year, just let him play and learn.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Roko

Just let him play. Don’t baby him.
Give him regular minutes in regular game action and he will be fine.

Pair him with Weegar or Bahl and they will have his back. Don’t overthink it.

I think the biggest risk is more injuries. I’m not sure if it’s his play style or foot speed but he still seems like he needs to learn how to take a hit

[zukes]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Scratching Parekh for another 5 games just so you can send him down to the AHL is completely silly given how he equipped himself in the NHL. The overthinking some of you do is wild.

The conditioning stint is a one-time thing. They aren't allowed to use that again this season on Parekh.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

You don't think that's a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitle premature?

No. It’s premature to assume it will turn out like either of those but not too soon to identify similar characteristics…highly talented player too good for junior but ideally not forced into the NHL, highly talented, free-spirited offensive player needing to face defensive issues.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by edslunch

No. It’s premature to assume it will turn out like either of those but not too soon to identify similar characteristics…highly talented player too good for junior but ideally not forced into the NHL, highly talented, free-spirited offensive player needing to face defensive issues.

So is your comparison more that this is like this is what happened to Sven, Sam , both or someone else?

I can see the comparisons to Sam because he also couldn't go to the AHL. But I think the issues with Sam were very different.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by edslunch

I'm starting to get Bennett and Sven vibes from this situation.

Umm you know Bennett played over 400 games as a Flame right? lol

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

So is your comparison more that this is like this is what happened to Sven, Sam , both or someone else?

I can see the comparisons to Sam because he also couldn't go to the AHL. But I think the issues with Sam were very different.

I’m getting old now but didn’t Sven look decent until injuries. I remember some scuttlebutt about him and Sutter

[calumniate]

I think they're handling Zane as best they can. Like any player really. Sucks he got injured, but at the end of the day it's up to the player to perform. Have no issue with the conditioning stint at all

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Bonded

I’m getting old now but didn’t Sven look decent until injuries. I remember some scuttlebutt about him and Sutter

It was him and Hartley. Hartley reportedly treated him very badly. I think Shane O Brien had to step in at one point.
Going a bit off memory.