Zayne Parekh drives the Calgary Flames power play with a 29.5 percent conversion rate through 19 games of the 2026-27 NHL regular season.
The Scotiabank Saddledome crowd reacts loudly whenever the 20-year-old rearguard handles the puck in either zone. Daily Faceoff reported that Parekh quarterbacking the unit has given the club its most effective power-play operator in years.
During a 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday, Parekh nearly scored a goal-of-the-year candidate by slicing from the blue line to the goal line before Joonas Korpisalo stopped his wraparound attempt.
“That was a heck of a play by him,” Korpisalo told reporters after the game.
“He got me swimming. It’s just straight desperation. “Dropped my stick to get my leverage, get my blocker there and I got lucky.”
Parekh finished that contest with three shots and four scoring chances across a team-high 22 minutes and 43 seconds of ice time. The Flames outshot the Rangers 9-3 at 5-on-5 with Parekh on the ice.”
The Flames selected Parekh ninth overall in the 2024 NHL Draft after he led the Saginaw Spirit to a Memorial Cup title. He became the first defenseman in Ontario Hockey League history to record consecutive 30-goal seasons, finishing his final junior run with 107 points.
After jumping straight to the professional ranks for the 2025-26 campaign, Parekh split time between the press box and injured reserve as a teenager.
He bounced back by scoring five goals and 13 points in seven games to help Canada win bronze at the 2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
“Almost — that’s the key word these days,” Parekh said regarding his recent near-misses. “It just feels like it’s almost working for me, but I can’t finish some of these off.”
#NYR Joonas Korpisalo said he intentionally dropped his stick to make that sprawling save on Zayne Parekh. "That was a heck of a play by him. He got me swimming. It's just straight desperation. Dropped my stick to get my leverage, get my blocker there and I got lucky."
Kevin Bahl suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon earlier in the week, ending his 2026-27 season prematurely. Parekh absorbed those vacant minutes immediately. His average ice time jumped from 17:40 prior to the injury to 22:14 over the past three games.
Natural Stat Trick data shows the Flames allow 2.44 expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 with Parekh on the ice.
Yan Kuznetsov remains the only other Flames defenseman holding a better mark in that specific metric.
“I think he makes a lucky save on it, to be honest,” Parekh said of Korpisalo’s stop on Wednesday. “I was laughing at the play too, a little bit. It seemed a bit outrageous … kudos to him.”
"We'll get some energy back and have a good road trip." Zayne Parekh discusses the loss to the Rangers and the group looking to regroup for the upcoming road swing. pic.twitter.com/AZzc4L3XAK