The Calgary Flames 2025/26 season has come to an end, and while there was plenty not to like about the regular season that was, there are many positives to take heading into the summer. Perhaps the biggest positive of all was rookie Zayne Parekh, who struggled early in the year, but with experience and confidence, he took his game to another level to end the year.
That all culminated with perhaps the best Flames goal of the season in Game 82 when he put Kings forward Taylor Ward in a blender, ending the season on the biggest possible high for the 20-year old.
WHAT A GOAL FROM ZAYNE PAREKH!! 😱 pic.twitter.com/0E6m6WoadM
— NHL (@NHL) April 17, 2026
While the overall season numbers for Parekh don't pop (37 games, 4 goals, 9 points), the past few weeks have been incredibly promising, and with the team needing a star on the blue line, it appears as though they may have found one. It's easy to praise Parekh as a fan, but his teammates have done the exact same, as he was the talk of the town for veterans at Flames exit interviews on Friday, with Ryan Strome the first to call out Parekh's development.
"From when I got here at the Trade Deadline the steps I’ve seen Zayne take are crazy."Ryan Strome
Ryan Strome at locker clean out day:
— Logan Gordon (@Fan960Logan) April 17, 2026
“From when I got here at the Trade Deadline the steps I’ve seen Zayne take are crazy.”#Flames
It was Mackenzie Weegar's departure at the trade deadline that opened up time for Parekh, who would end up averaging 22:46 minutes of ice time over his final four games. That's something he will need to get used to doing, and according to his defense partner over the past few games Zach Whitecloud, he's got the ability to do that in the future, as No. 28 praised Parekh's game at both ends of the ice.
"He's done a good job defending, I think a lot of people need to understand how hard that is, especially as a 20-year old 'offensive defenseman'. He's defending well, he's coming out on the right side of matchups."Zach Whitecloud
Some great leadership being shown here by Zach Whitecloud when he talks about Zayne Parekh in such a positive light.
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) April 17, 2026
🎥: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/CQcktlMhId
Obviously, there's so much to work on for Parekh, as many want to see him gain muscle this summer to avoid injury when he does end up taking hits, but with the offensive upside and the defensive improvements, these comments just go to show how high the ceiling truly is for No. 19.
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