🚨 The Zayne Parekh show has arrived 🚨

[mile]

He learns more here than in the OHL - I think he stays, especially now that he's getting reps at PP1

[Funkhouser]

For Zayne, I think we can mostly agree that:

AHL>NHL>CHL

Anyone know how the Kraken were able to get Wright an exemption from the CHL?

[Badgers Nose]

I’m with Rhettro. Play Parekh like crazy and by the end of the season we’ll have a bonafide NHL defensemen. Maybe even first pair.

Send him down to the OHL now and you just slow his development by a year.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by SutterBrother

So you want to send him back to junior?

Thats your only option.

That is the only other option. It's not very often 19 year olds stay in the NHL if they aren't producing. Most of the time they stay, it is because they knock the doors down, which he hasn't done. It's special treatment because of his age and ineligibility to play in the AHL.

I'm not going to lie, but if I was one of the guys in the AHL closer to being NHL ready, I'd be a little irritated. If I was a veteran trying to win games, I'd be a little irritated too. There are reasonable arguments to justify special treatment, like it's better to struggle in the NHL for a year than coast through another year of junior, but at the same time, development can be hurt if players are rushed before they are ready. I don't know what the answer is, but am open to opinions.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

That is the only other option. It's not very often 19 year olds stay in the NHL if they aren't producing. Most of the time they stay, it is because they knock the doors down, which he hasn't done. It's special treatment because of his age and ineligibility to play in the AHL.

I'm not going to lie, but if I was one of the guys in the AHL closer to being NHL ready, I'd be a little irritated. If I was a veteran trying to win games, I'd be a little irritated too. There are reasonable arguments to justify special treatment, like it's better to struggle in the NHL for a year than coast through another year of junior, but at the same time, development can be hurt if players are rushed before they are ready. I don't know what the answer is, but am open to opinions.

I don’t think there were any better options in the AHL, remember that Solo, Kuz and Brust could have taken spots away from guys like Bean and Miromanov as well but didn’t. They just weren’t good enough to crack the roster.

I also don’t see how any of the veterans on the team have any business being irritated, the level of play from everyone isn’t good enough. To single out the rookie getting 3rd pair minutes wouldn’t make much sense.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I think the Flames are playing well right now, and that this is a good environment right now for Parekh. Now, if the losing piles on and this team starts pouting and looking like Vancouver, then I may agree that this isn't the best situation.


Parekh is playing decent minutes, and he isn't underwater. The Flames are not overexposing him. He certainly has made mistakes, but he has looked really good at times too. Third pairing + PP time is the best spot for him at this time. He will gradually start earning more. Things will become interesting once Andersson is traded-out, however.

[metroneck]

If you are concerned about the mistakes he is making this year in the NHL, his timing (needs an extra second), or his pace of play, what is he going to learn in Jr that will mitigate these growing pains next season?

[FBI]

Am I the only one thinking he looks kinda good?? And is unlucky he doesn’t have more points. I find the other D are playing WAY WORSE.

[Roko]

Kid is getting time with the big club, and paid daily. It’s wild we are thinking the OHL is even a chance for him. I’d send him to the world juniors if they wanted him though.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by FBI

Am I the only one thinking he looks kinda good?? And is unlucky he doesn’t have more points. I find the other D are playing WAY WORSE.

he would be killing it with more icetime.

But the Flames are gonna always Flame

[FusionX]

Is it just me or does he get hit/targeted seemingly all the time? Like, every opportunity it looks like he's getting roughed up. Is it just a matter of him not knowing how to protect himself or are teams actively targeting him?

[ResAlien]

Originally Posted by FusionX

Is it just me or does he get hit/targeted seemingly all the time? Like, every opportunity it looks like he's getting roughed up. Is it just a matter of him not knowing how to protect himself or are teams actively targeting him?

Could simply be physics, he kinda looks like a child out there skating with men.

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by FBI

Am I the only one thinking he looks kinda good?? And is unlucky he doesn’t have more points. I find the other D are playing WAY WORSE.

Now, I haven't watched all Flames games like I usually do due to the Jays but of the games I've seen, he's looked better and better to me.

Still makes at least a few mistakes each game I watch, but his improvement has been noticeable. I would disagree that the other D look way worse (overall, all things considered).

Parekh has looked better on the PP each time I've watched and is making better decisions 5 on 5 too. I think the process the coaching staff has taken is clearly paying off well for him.

It's not surprising to me that there are some who feel he isn't turning out. I was saying that expectations by them were way too high in the summer and Parekh was going to need time, so them not seeing him on the top pair and scoring at a PPG right now was surely going to lead to disappointment.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

he would be killing it with more icetime.

Why? If he had more ice time, wouldn't he be making more mistakes rather than less?

[FusionX]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

Could simply be physics, he kinda looks like a child out there skating with men.

Ya, maybe you're right. Just all magnified cause he's still a boy amongst men. Hopefully he learns to deal with it before too

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Why? If he had more ice time, wouldn't he be making more mistakes rather than less?

Yes, he absolutely would be.

But the beautiful thing about making mistakes is that the faster you make them, the faster you learn how to not make them.

[Rhett44]

Ideally you would send him to the AHL for a while to develop and bulk up a bit. However, with it not being an option I believe sending him down would hurt his development.

You may as well just play him and let him learn with 2nd/3rd pairing and pp time. You can really see he has all the skill in the world. He just needs to bulk up a bit like Honzek did and he will be so much better next year. But that will just take time, he is only 19.

This is such a dumb rule as I believe he could be playing top line AHL minutes and really developing faster.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Yes, he absolutely would be.

But the beautiful thing about making mistakes is that the faster you make them, the faster you learn how to not make them.

The lack of defense in his game now is the same thing critics pointed out in pretty much all of his scouting reports in junior. That's why when people say he has nothing left to learn in junior, I disagree. He wasn't the best or at the top of his peers is some aspects of the game at that level. It's not new to him, it carried over from junior.

I do agree that he can learn that in the NHL if he applies himself. Being that he just played his 9th game, the Flames need to consider whether learning that in the NHL in what is likely a lost season, is worth burning a year of his ELC. It's not like if he went back to junior he would forget how to play offensively.

I'm not saying they need to turn a thoroughbred into a workhorse. Being an offensive defenseman is what he is, and that's fine. But if he is ever going to be more than a specialist and wants big minutes at the NHL level, he needs to get better in other areas and learning on the fly at the NHL level isn't the normal path. This is why the whole AHL/CHL agreement is dumb. In a perfect world, he would be able to play in the AHL for a while which is the best league for preparing players for the NHL. A crash course in the NHL doesn't always produce the best results for a lot of prospects.

I am definitely not saying he isn't "turning out" as another post mentioned. He is a special prospect that needs patience and some development in order to progress.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

This is why the whole AHL/CHL agreement is dumb.

The AHL/CHL agreement isn't about helping a few exceptional players develop. It's about keeping the CHL as the top league for junior-aged Canadian players instead of having all the good 18- and 19-year-olds routinely yanked into NHL organizations. The NHL always recognized that the CHL is its biggest source of talent, and needs to keep most of that talent beyond draft age to remain viable. The whole purpose of the agreement was for NHL clubs to avoid undermining the CHL.

Now, of course, the CHL is being undermined by the NCAA, which doesn't give a damn about either the CHL or the NHL. We'll see what happens with that.

[dino7c]

Makar was 20 before he played, kid is fine...looks better every game

Weegar looked like the rookie tonight