ZAYNE PAREKH

2025-05-29

Scout: Josh Hutchinson

Skating:

Parekh is the smoothest skater on the ice every time he’s out there. His stride is so effortless it may look to some like he’s not trying. He has exceptional quickness although his top speed isn’t necessarily that high. He’s quick enough to get back on defence and rarely gets caught out of position after jumping up in the rush or trying to create chances deep in the offensive zone.

Passing/Handling:

He has great vision both in the offensive zone and on the breakout and hits his teammates with smooth precise passes. His puck-handling is incredible. He has an ability to shield the puck from defenders despite only being 6 foot tall with a slight frame. He sometimes looks like he has the puck on a string often coming out of double and triple team situations with possession.

Shooting:

Parekh has a hard accurate wrist shot that he uses a lot. He had 9 shot attempts per game in the OHL last year. He also led the league in goals by a defensemen with 34. Despite the high shot volume, he chooses his spots wisely and often buries pucks from the high slot.

IQ (Vision, Anticipation, Panic/Poise):

Extremely high IQ. He always seems to make the right play in the offensive zone. When he finds his teammates, he puts them in a great spot to create chances. He is always looking for opportunities to jump up in the rush, pinch in the offensive zone, or put himself in a scoring position near the net. He picks his spots extremely well though and doesn’t often get caught having to chase the play back to the defensive zone. He’s extremely calm with and without the puck.

Forechecking:

Defense:

Although not very physical, Parekh has good positioning in the defensive zone, reads the play well and has a great stick to break up plays. He isn’t afraid to close off shooting lanes and block shots. He occasionally gets physically overpowered by bigger forwards in net front and board battles but isn’t afraid to engage physically.

Best Asset:

His skating and his shot are both equally his best assets. He’s very well rounded offensively so there could be many answers to this question.

Biggest Concern:

Size. As mentioned before, he sometimes gets physically overpowered in net front and board battles and that will likely continue against bigger and stronger opponents in the NHL.

Top Tier/Role Potential:

Top Pair D. PP1 QB. Point per game ceiling.

Justification for Top Tier Assessment:

Parekh’s offensive instincts are exceptional. He has a great shot which should translate well into the NHL and his vision and ability to QB a power play are very strong. Despite a lack of physicality, he has a good sense of how to read the play in the defensive zone and finds ways to break it up and gain puck possession. These qualities should help him stay relevant on a top pair as opposed to being a third pair, power play guy.

50th Percentile Tier/Role:

Justification for 50th Percentile Tier Assessment:

N/A

Stylistic Comparable:

Quinn Hughes (size/IQ/skating) and Zach Werenski (shot volume/goal scoring) hybrid.

2025-01-28

Scout: Grant Campbell

Skating:

Parekh is a fantastic skater. His first two or three steps are elite. He has great mobility and balance and can create space on a whim.

Passing/Handling:

Parekh is an above average passer in the offensive zone, as he finds open teammates easily. His breakout passing is average if not slightly above average and will need to be improved. His passes are crisp and sometimes his teammates can't receive them. As he progresses to higher levels, better players will help him here. His handling almost keeps up to his skating, but not quite at times. He can mishandle the puck at the blue line at times and over handle the puck in his own end as well. Having said that, it is still very much above average.

Shooting:

Parekh has an excellent wrist/snap shot and he shoots often. He has good accuracy and gets his shot off from prime locations on the ice. His ability to get wide open looks from between the faceoff circles on the power play will disappear at higher levels, but he should still be able to work towards the center of the ice to get his shots off.

IQ (Vision, Anticipation, Panic/Poise):

When he has the puck, he sees the ice very well at high speed and finds space or teammates at will it seems. His offensive awareness is quite high and he finds soft spots better than anyone else on his team. He has a very low panic threshold and is quite confident. His defensive awareness in his own end can be shocking at times.

Forechecking:

Parekh is not a physical player by any means. He will lose far more board battles than he wins and will rely on his stick or feet rather than his body.

Defense:

He recovers well when he makes a bad pinch or a turnover in the other team's end. He's not bad one on one, when he can rely on his mobility. His awareness in his own end is below average as he struggles to pick up open players. He struggles to box out in front of his own net and blows the defensive zone sometimes as a defender. He has a lot of work to do here.

Best Asset:

Skating by a mile. He'd be in the top 30 in skating right now in the NHL.

Biggest Concern:

Defense and durability. There are a pile of defenders who lit it up offensively in junior/college hockey and couldn't transition to the pro game because of defense. He has a slight build and does take some big hits at times, so I'm a little concerned about that at the pro level.

Top Tier/Role Potential:

First unit power play quarterback, who plays 20 minutes a game and produces 65-75 points.

Justification for Top Tier Assessment:

I believe he has as much offensive ability as Cale Makar or Quinn Hughes, but he is well behind either of those players (at the same point in the career) in his overall game.

50th Percentile Tier/Role:

Second unit power play quarterback who plays 15-17 minutes a night while being sheltered and produces 25-35 points. If it is this scenario, I think he'd be a healthy scratch at times and up and down from the AHL. Think Calen Addison or similar.

Justification for 50th Percentile Tier Assessment:

A player who struggles defensively is only worth playing if they produce at a fairly high rate. Parekh could struggle to bridge that gap at times as he moves up to the AHL/NHL.

Stylistic Comparable:

Cale Makar - ceiling, Calen Addison - floor

Scouts Final Thoughts and Additional Stats/Info:

Parekh can be phenomenal at times and take over games offensively. After seeing a few games, I can see why there were some reservations about including him on Canada at the World Juniors, but the offense that he can bring at this level is extraordinary. He's a boom or bust prospect for sure.

Games Scouted:

12/8/24 vs Windsor OHL, 01/18/25 vs Guelph OHL, 01/23/25 vs Peterborough OHL