If he dedicates himself to becoming more of a complete player, I honestly think that he has Makar upside. If you throw him into the NHL now and tell him to just do his thing, he is Gostisbehere. I really think this is a guy you need to be patient with and not rush.
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Last edited by FlamesAddiction; 06-29-2024 at 04:37 AM.
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If he dedicates himself to becoming more of a complete player, I honestly thing that he has Makar upside. If you throw him into the NHL now and tell him to just do his thing, he is Gostisbehere. I really think this is a guy you need to be patient with and not rush.
I’m not sure that it’s fair to him to say that he has Cale Makar upside. Cale Makar has broken Bobby Orr records. His upside is huge, but we should temper our expectations a little bit
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I’m tired of rushing top prospects. I certainly feel other than Tkachuk, Bennett could’ve used 1 year in the AHL and Monahan could’ve used 1 year in junior to absolutely dominate and refine his game.
Of course, this is hindsight.
No way should Parehk make the team as an 18 year old weak defensemen. Give him time to develop strength and his defensive game while continuing to dominate offensively.
Don't see why Monahan needed an extra year of junior and think we over value what a year of dominating kids does in terms of developing you for the NHL. If anything you just pick up bad habits because you can get away with things at that level that would never work in the NHL.
If you could send them to the AHL, I would agree but top level junior players can coast through a season and put up a billion points.
Don't see why Monahan needed an extra year of junior and think we over value what a year of dominating kids does in terms of developing you for the NHL. If anything you just pick up bad habits because you can get away with things at that level that would never work in the NHL.
If you could send them to the AHL, I would agree but top level junior players can coast through a season and put up a billion points.
In Parekh's case his body is not ready for the NHL - that's probably the biggest reason. Does he have enough skill to score, say, 10G/20A in the show right now? Perhaps but just give him another year to cook.
I’m tired of rushing top prospects. I certainly feel other than Tkachuk, Bennett could’ve used 1 year in the AHL and Monahan could’ve used 1 year in junior to absolutely dominate and refine his game.
Of course, this is hindsight.
No way should Parehk make the team as an 18 year old weak defensemen. Give him time to develop strength and his defensive game while continuing to dominate offensively.
The challenge is that you can't send junior-age kids to the AHL. And dominating the CHL has its limitations.
I am not keen on him being in the NHL next season either though - what I would really like is to see him go to a really strong Division 1 team like Michigan, and get lots of coaching/practice time.
The challenge is that you can't send junior-age kids to the AHL. And dominating the CHL has its limitations.
I am not keen on him being in the NHL next season either though - what I would really like is to see him go to a really strong Division 1 team like Michigan, and get lots of coaching/practice time.
In Parekh's case his body is not ready for the NHL - that's probably the biggest reason. Does he have enough skill to score, say, 10G/20A in the show right now? Perhaps but just give him another year to cook.
I don’t think anyone is arguing that he be put in the NHL if he’s not ready.
People are saying he COULD be ready.
None of us know. We’ll find out in September.
It’s not like Bedard had some “NHL ready” body. But when guys show their skills translate to the NHL pace… they’re ready.
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Reading up on Parekh this morning, came across this quote from Mark Hunter ‘he’s just too damn good to fail’.
Excited about having Parekh in the fold, really excited. I think he compliments what the Flames have built over the past year very well. With Parekh added to the equation, it looks as though the blue line is mostly set. Of course the Flames can/should continue to draft D, not all the prospects will turn out but the primary focus can shift the to finding a 1C. Hopefully elite 1C.
I don't know where all of this nonsense about Parekh's defensive game is coming from but he is NOT weak defensively. Every junior age player is weak defensively compared to the rigor of NHL systems, but at his age and against his peers, Parekh is one of the best in the CHL. His defensive game is actually really underrated, just like Makar's was when he played in college. This kid is going to be a rock back there and be a foundational piece.
Conroy has done some incredible work to rebuild the back end in the system. Having Poirier (grossly underrated around here), Morin, Kuznetsov, and Solovyov as the only defensemen with upside was a huge problem. Not only did he bring back some guys to fill holes in Miromanov, Hanley, Pachal, and Bahl but he's added some exciting prospects in Brzustewicz, Jurmo, and Grushnikov. Parekh is piece that really just pulls this group together and lets you see a path forward to functioning group in the future. When they say you build a champion from the goal and blueline out you can see what Conroy is doing.
Mid-season after we got Brzustewicz I looked at the OHL scoring race and started paying a lot of attention to the draft eligible players on the blueline across the CHL, hoping for another core piece. Parekh and Dickenson obviously stood out, but Parehk just continued to shine and be "that guy" you hope the Flames would draft. After Celebrini, Parekh was tops on my list. I can't believe he fell to the Flames and they took him. I think we just got the second best player in the 2024 draft. I definitely think we got the one player that is going to have the biggest impact on the team that drafted him. Parekh just became the player the Flames will build around for the next decade IMO. Exciting times ahead!
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The way I see it, it’s ceiling Quinn Hughes, floor Tyson Barrie. And Barrie isn’t even a bad floor either, he has had a decent career.
Hughes needed Tanev to cover him because he had major defensive warts. When Tanev left Hughes struggled a bit but finally found his two way game and won the Norris. With the way Parekh scores, we could have ourselves a future Norris winner if he works on his defensive game. And that will come in time, the difference between the NHL and OHL is insane. I’ve no doubt he gets his 9 games but some more OHL time wouldn’t hurt the guy.
The draftees are all young people and best of luck to all of them.
To really excel at the next level, you need a certain mindset to overcome obstacles and opponents. I coach elite athletes in a different sport, and you can see the difference between players and the maturity of mental development even when they are all great physical players.
I was very, very impressed with Parekh’s maturity and his mental skills. I heard so many great thoughts from him in his interviews. This guy is a leader.
So after the physical “he can play hockey”, there is still more there to his game and that is why he’s more than we think about today.
Great pick!
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I don't know where all of this nonsense about Parekh's defensive game is coming from but he is NOT weak defensively. Every junior age player is weak defensively compared to the rigor of NHL systems, but at his age and against his peers, Parekh is one of the best in the CHL. His defensive game is actually really underrated, just like Makar's was when he played in college. This kid is going to be a rock back there and be a foundational piece.
Conroy has done some incredible work to rebuild the back end in the system. Having Poirier (grossly underrated around here), Morin, Kuznetsov, and Solovyov as the only defensemen with upside was a huge problem. Not only did he bring back some guys to fill holes in Miromanov, Hanley, Pachal, and Bahl but he's added some exciting prospects in Brzustewicz, Jurmo, and Grushnikov. Parekh is piece that really just pulls this group together and lets you see a path forward to functioning group in the future. When they say you build a champion from the goal and blueline out you can see what Conroy is doing.
Mid-season after we got Brzustewicz I looked at the OHL scoring race and started paying a lot of attention to the draft eligible players on the blueline across the CHL, hoping for another core piece. Parekh and Dickenson obviously stood out, but Parehk just continued to shine and be "that guy" you hope the Flames would draft. After Celebrini, Parekh was tops on my list. I can't believe he fell to the Flames and they took him. I think we just got the second best player in the 2024 draft. I definitely think we got the one player that is going to have the biggest impact on the team that drafted him. Parekh just became the player the Flames will build around for the next decade IMO. Exciting times ahead!
Agreed
To me it seems like a lazy criticism to say the 18 year old offensive minded defence man isn’t good defensively. Same things were probably said about Makar, Hughes, and Dahlin.
Admittedly I haven’t paid as much attention to the OHL but based on what I’ve read/heard. Parekh’s game has improved defensively and he has a good stick although, in his words, he’s not going to blow anyone up. I also like what he has to say regarding his strengths (paraphrasing) ‘I’m not getting drafted to defend I’m getting drafted because I’m an elite puck moving defence man’. Appreciate that self assured confidence and awareness. He’s knows what he’s excelling at. That’s important especially at a young age. I think he only gets better.
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