2006-born Saginaw Spirit defenceman Zayne Parekh talking after win against Niagara IceDogs Last night against the Guelph Storm, 2024 NHL Draft eligible defenceman Zayne Parekh hit the twenty goal mark. He's the first defender in the OHL to reach that mark this season. Zayne Parekh's offence just won't let up. It seems like he is able to find a way to get his fingerprints on the scoresheet in every single game. On a very deep team on the blue-line, Parekh is the best of them all. Parekh has to share Saginaw's offensive ice with defencemen Rodwin Dionicio & Jorian Donovan, who are very skilled offensively in their own rights. But the seventeen-year-old Parekh has kept his spot all season long. He continues to play on Saginaw's first power play unit, where he tends to play the better part of the two minutes. Parekh oozes offensive creativity, and this is what makes him special. He reads the offensive zone at such a high level, where he is able to beat the opposing defence in any regard. Parekh will beat them to the puck with his feet, he will beat them with his hands and deception, or he will simply beat them with a shot. He never attacks the same way twice, which makes him incredibly unpredictable. He possesses all of the offensive traits that you would want a forward to have, and he is a master at all of them from the point. Parekh loves to drive play, and he wants the puck in his hands as often as he can. He is a pure offensive catalyst who can dictate play beginning in the defensive zone on the breakout. It seems impossible for Parekh not to touch the puck on any given shift, he just always finds a way to gain possession. Defensively, a couple of concerns arise. He still struggles to defend at times in front of his own net. He can tend to let opponents slip through him and find open space in front. Parekh lacks the box-out strength to defend out front, but his defensive stick precision has progressed. He defends the rush very well with his feet, positioning and stick. This was something he wasn't good at last season. In terms of confidence, Parekh is loaded with it. He has this sort-of swag that you don't see often from seventeen-year-olds in major junior. He doesn't let anything get to his head, and he loves getting into the heads of his opponents. Parekh has no problem engaging physically and running his mouth on the ice to anger his opponents. It's really cool to see this "swag" from such a young player in the league, and you can tell that will translate to the NHL as well. Parekh's name will be called very early on draft day. The team that selects him is getting a world-class offensive talent on the blue line.
