Zayne Parekh Wins CHL Defenceman of the Year Award

Zayne Parekh couldn't ask for a better end to his draft eligible season, winning the Memorial Cup and CHL Defeceman of the Year.

Top draft eligible defenceman Zayne Parekh has been named the CHL Defenceman of the Year, after a season for the ages. 

He was competing against Denton Mateychuk (Moose Jaw, WHL) and Vsevolod Komarov (Drummondville, QMJHL) for this award. Parekh is two years younger than both of his competition for this award, making his win even more impressive. 

Parekh couldn't have written a better ending to a historic season individually, winning the Memorial Cup and CHL Defenceman of the Year. He had the best draft eligible season from a defenceman that we have seen in recent years — from a production perspective. 

He finished the regular season with 96 points and 33 goals in just 66 games — as a seventeen/eighteen-year-old. Parekh is one of two defenceman to put up over 95 points in the OHL in the last 20 years, which speaks to his dominance.

We've been saying it all season. Zayne Parekh's offensive creativity is elite, and that is what separates him from every single other defenceman in the CHL. He has the ability to flip a switch and carry his team offensively from the blue line. He oozes confidence, and no stage is too big for him to perform on.

Parekh's not only fun to watch, he makes plays that make you scratch your head and wonder if we are watching an eighteen-year-old or Cale Makar.

Parekh has been compared to a lot of the top offensive defencemen in today's NHL; Quinn Hughes, Adam Fox, and even Cale Makar. The ceiling of his offensive abilities are right up there with those names, it is just a matter of if he can attain that ability at the professional level.

In the 2024 NHL Draft, Parekh won't have to wait long to hear his name called. He has the ability to be that franchise-changing defenceman, but there is also a risk factor with him. He has all of this confidence and pure offensive skill, but what if it doesn't work at the NHL level? What if his defensive play doesn't allow him to survive on an NHL blue line?

These are questions that scouts and General Managers will have to ponder ahead of the draft, but there is no doubt that the upside with Parekh is worth an early pick.