PHILADELPHIA — Stripped of the puck at the offensive blue line, Zayne Parekh watched helplessly as Christian Dvorak went on a lengthy breakaway that the Flyers forward was unable to convert on.
Frustrated by the miscue, the Flames defenceman punctuated his shift by splintering his stick as he entered the bench.
Head hung low as he sat catching his breath, Brayden Pachal offered some brotherly love by grabbing the 19-year-old by the back of his collar, and snapping him upwards with words of encouragement.
And so it will go for the Flames and their most prized prospect moving forward.
“With Zayne, there’s gonna be lots of mistakes,†said GM Craig Conroy when asked about the youngster who has become a focal point of Flames discourse through the teamâ€s tough start.
“He’s gonna give up two-on-ones. He’s gonna turn pucks over for breakaways.
“But junior is not the place for him.â€
Conroy made that official on Sunday when Parekh was re-inserted into the Flames’ lineup to play his tenth game of the season, burning a second year off his entry-level contract.
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That, quite simply, was the plan all along, as the AHL isnâ€t an option, as per the CBA.
But a rough start to the season prompted cause for a pause, which ended late Saturday when a post-game meeting confirmed heâ€d stay with the big club.
A 14-day conditioning stint in the AHL is still not off the table, nor is a month-long spin at the world junior championship.
But for now, the plan is to stick with the process, which means enduring the growing pains that saw Parekh throw a peach up the middle of his own zone and onto the oppositionâ€s stick early in a third period as the Flames were leading 1-0.
“He’s as good a passer as we have, but there’s different ways to play at different parts of the game, when you’re down a goal or when you’re up a goal — key situations on the ice,†said Conroy, explaining some of the nuances of the game the youngster needs time to adjust to.
“In the defensive zone, instead of soft chips or rim around, make the hard out. If you soft chip in the NHL, it’s not getting out. It’s little plays like that. If you don’t have a play, live to fight another day.
“Unlike junior, when itâ€s go, go, go, manage the game, learn when you can pinch and what the score of the game is.â€
Following a pair of games in which the first rounder was a healthy scratch, he was given 13 minutes of ice time Sunday, which included running the top power-play unit and being inserted in Kevin Bahlâ€s place for a few additional offensive-zone starts.
While the focus of film work continues to revolve around his defensive play, there will be no leash put on him offensively, where they hope heâ€ll gain confidence.
However, as the Flames shortened the bench to preserve a 2-1 win, Parekh saw just over three minutes of ice time in the third.Â
“We’re always trying to get the young guys in,†said Conroy, whose club also elevated Connor Zary to a top-six role Sunday.
“I know people will be in an uproar about how much they play, but you still want to put them in positions where they succeed and do well, and not just play them to play them, where they’re in over their heads and it hurts their development.
“Guys have to play well. It’s the NHL. You have to earn your ice time, and coaches have to hold players accountable.
“The coaches need to make the decision on the players, and I’m there to support them, but you also want to do whatâ€s best in the long term for the players.â€
Two goals from Jonathan Huberdeau helped the Flames win for just the second time in their last 13 games, prompting many to ask where the club goes from here.
 “We’re not going to tell people exactly what we’re doing — it doesn’t make any sense, because then you’re telling 31 teams,†said Conroy, disinterested in a state of the nation address.
“We have an idea where we want this team to go, and how we’re getting there. If these young guys were so lights out, that’s what you need. You need players to come in and play so well you can’t take them out.
“Young guys are gonna have ups and downs, and you get hard on yourself mentally. You do need mental breaks, but then when you come back, you need to perform. That’s not about getting points. It’s winning battles, doing the right things, being a positive on the team, and helping the team in the end. I mean, it’s about winning games. We want to win games and get better and give them that confidence. You just can’t continue to just play a guy if he’s playing bad. It doesn’t make any sense. How does he learn anything from it?Â
“I can see where fans don’t see that and say, ‘just play the young guys.†Yeah, it’s easy to just say that, but are you helping them by doing that?â€
Kinda feels like weâ€re going to find out.Â
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