00:00many, many, many a player have thrived in NHL preseason and have it not really work out, right?
00:08ECHL, AHL, Europe littered with guys who, big story is, yeah, I put up, I had two tucks in a
00:15preseason game against Nikolai Habibulin. Don't know why that was the goalie's name I pulled out,
00:20but I did. That being said, I think it's okay to get a little excited about Zayn Parekh if
00:27you're a Calgary Flames fan. Let's talk about it.
00:33Last night, preseason hockey, the Calgary Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks by a score that I've
00:38already forgotten. The main thing of that game, I think, and I don't know how it's not anyone else's
00:44main takeaway, is the comfort level of Zayn Parekh. And I understand it's not live bullets flying out
00:50there, and even if it was, it's the Canucks, but that level of confidence that this kid showed was
00:58not there last year. And so much of what he does is based off of confidence. You cannot wheel around
01:04in your own end, skate up the ice on a power play, and just take the shot if you're not
01:10feeling
01:10confident. You can't have complete control of things on the offensive side in the way he does
01:15if you don't have that level of confidence. He has to be, not even bordering on cocky,
01:20he has to be one cocky son of a gun to play with the style that he has. And you
01:25can see
01:25that is happening. And I reference this on the radio all the time. I've probably referenced it
01:30here as well. But my buddy Chris Pope works in the Ontario Hockey League and has for a really long
01:35time. And like a really long time. Super old guy. But he, as soon as Parekh was drafted, he sent
01:42me
01:42a message. He was like, just so you know, like, you got a really good one out there. It took
01:47him
01:47about a month to figure things out in the OHL, and then he just had it, and he was gone.
01:51And so it is
01:53understandable that one month in the Ontario Hockey League equals one year, and a little bit, in the
01:58National Hockey League. I'm not going to say like he is just going to be dance puppets, and he is
02:02going
02:02to be in complete control, and doing the same stuff he was doing in the OHL, and tying Bobby
02:07Orr records, and things like that. But this is an incredibly intelligent kid, and an incredibly
02:12hardworking kid. He has, it's one thing I've credited with Wolfe, probably to the point where
02:17people listening and watching are sick of me crediting him with this, but he sees a problem,
02:22and he just fixes it. This is a dude who finished high school early, so he could just focus on
02:27hockey.
02:28Like, look at the big brain on this guy, right? And he has the offensive gifts to back it up.
02:33He recognized, like, yeah, I get hit a lot, and I'm going to need to be able to sustain a
02:38lot of
02:39those hits if I'm going to play 82 NHL games this year. So, like, Michael Jordan, after the Pistons
02:44beat him up, I got to put some muscle on. And the kid beefs up a little bit. He's probably
02:49not going
02:49to win a bodybuilding competition in his life, but just get a little bit thicker, be able to bounce off
02:53of some of those checks, let your body absorb some of those checks a little bit more, and now
02:58it hasn't slowed him down at all. And it does really feel like, again, based off of one preseason game
03:02against the worst team in the NHL, I know, but it does really feel like there is the potential for
03:07something special to be happening with this kid as early as this upcoming season. So, the sky really
03:13does feel like the limit on everything here with Zane Parekh. And once again, following that,
03:19Sam Honzik has another good game. It feels like, again, it's a guy who just recognizes where
03:23he's supposed to be on the ice at all times and is starting to drive the play out there
03:27a little bit more. So, I think we can get really excited about it. Also, had a couple comments on
03:31this and on Locked on Flames, the Flames podcast that I do. You guys aren't talking enough about
03:37Idar Sunyev. First of all, we did. It got to the point where it felt bodish the other day with
03:45that.
03:45But, like, Sunyev is certainly someone who can work into this conversation. I do think when you see
03:49that lineup last night, it's going to be tough for him to crack it right away. Just given, like,
03:54they're pretty well set on the fourth line. They don't view him as a fourth line guy.
03:58And, like, Zeri isn't going to lose that opportunity right away, I don't think. So,
04:03Sunyev certainly has the shot and the scoring ability that makes him a tantalizing option for
04:08the Flames going forward. But I do think that he is someone that may have to start out the season
04:13with the Wranglers and work his way up there. But overall, the preseason, the results,
04:17they don't matter. This season, results don't really matter for the Flames that much. But the
04:22things that you want to be excited about are allowing you to be excited about them. And that's
04:26a really exciting thing. But what do you guys think? Am I still not talking enough about Idar Sunyev?
04:32Am I gushing too much about Zayn Parekoff of one preseason game? And what are your expectations for
04:37him now going into the 26-27 season? Let me know either in the live chat, in the comments, or
04:43if you're
04:45listening to this in podcast form, hit me up on social media. I'm at PrimetimeKline,
04:48Instagram, X, TikTok threads, and Blue Sky.
