CALGARY – The spotlight on Zayne Parekh is bright, and at times it will be unfair.
Every play he makes is lauded, every miss is blown up.
The roller-coaster started in the first period of Sundayâ€s pre-season opener at the Saddledome, where a collective gasp could be heard following a tantalizing o-zone pass, followed on the same shift by some groans as he was stripped at the blue line for a great chance the other way.
Such is life for the 19-year-old wunderkind, whose intensity, skating, decision-making and effectiveness will be analyzed nightly.
And itâ€s just the pre-season.
Promising to try avoiding social media as much as possible through the process, the Flames defenceman will listen closely to those who matter most for dissection of his every outing.
As far as self-assessment goes, heâ€s not likely to be one to sugarcoat things.
“First game, so maybe a little bit better than I expected,†said Parekh when asked after Sundayâ€s 3-0 pre-season loss to the Oilers to assess his night.
“Some good, some bad – maybe a little more bad than good, so just have to clean that up.â€
In almost 20 minutes of ice time alongside Jake Bean, Parekh saw time running the second power-play unit, did a little penalty killing, fired two shots on net, rang one off the post and drew a hooking penalty on Ike Howard.
He was active, and he was noticeable, taking chances offensively youâ€d expect from a defenceman coming off back to back 30-goal seasons in the OHL.
His teammates wanted to get him the puck, and they knew the gifted playmaker was capable of getting it back to them at any point in time.
Make no mistake, heâ€s going to be a treat to watch.
“I thought he had probably the most jump of our younger guys,†said coach Ryan Huska.
“In the offensive zone, he moved around. Early on he made a few good passes. We didnâ€t capitalize on our opportunities with the guys he was setting up. I thought he did some good things.â€
When told Parekh was somewhat critical of his game, the coach seemed a bit surprised.
“I think maybe itâ€s a guy thatâ€s not used to being in front of the media a little bit too, probably. Heâ€s learning a lot of different things as he goes.â€
And heâ€s doing it with an infectious grin on his face, despite the pressure he admits heâ€s feeling as someone widely expected to make the team in a few weeks.
Following a second-period icing call in his own zone, he was seen laughing out loud with Howard as they skated back up ice for the faceoff.
“Oh, I just told him his penalty wasnâ€t a hook,†chuckled the happy-go-lucky blue-liner.
“It was a soft call.â€
The coaches and management have done their best to alleviate pressure on Parekh, advising him to simply play his game.
That game involves taking the sort of chances he could get away with in junior, not here.
He knows that. Heâ€ll learn.
Thereâ€s no doubt that with his hands, silky stride and hockey IQ, heâ€s going to live up to the hype that comes with being the ninth pick overall in 2024.
As everyone is aware, it will just take time.
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“Iâ€m going to make mistakes, they know that,†said Parekh, whose disappointing training camp a year earlier is a memory overshadowed by the confidence he built with his stellar NHL debut last spring.
‘They just want me to feel comfortable and confident out there.
“Iâ€ll have to learn through this process. I try not to look at social media anymore because everyoneâ€s gonna scrutinize everything.
“The last week has been a tough one mentally, just because I tend to start the year slow. But after tonight I feel a little more confident about myself.â€
A few more takeaways from an evening of split-squad action that saw the Flames’ poor outing in Calgary tempered by a 3-2 overtime win in Edmonton:
Round one of the Flames†backup goalie battle went to Ivan Prosvetov in Edmonton, where he made 28 saves to backstop the lesser of the two Calgary lineups in the win.
Devin Cooleyâ€s pre-season debut didnâ€t go nearly as well, as he let a routine shot squeeze through him less than three minutes in.
After making more than 20 straight saves, he was victimized midway through the third when Matvei Gridin threw a blind backhand through the middle of his own zone that gave Connor Clattenburg all the time in the world to step in and beat Cooley clean.
“The goal I really didnâ€t like was the second one because I didnâ€t play in my system,†said Cooley, who was an all-star with the AHL Wranglers last year.
“I tried to do a stupid windmill and look good in front of the crowd and he totally burned me. I thought technically I was really sound, really controlled, and the one time I tried to be an athlete I just got burned.”
He finished with 26 saves.
Meanwhile, in Edmonton…
Morgan Frost was the hero three hours north when his second goal of the game came a minute into overtime. What should give fans even more hope about the mid-season acquisition that brought Frost here from Philadelphia is the fact his linemate, Joel Farabee, also scored.
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