Flames expected to loan Zayne Parekh to Team Canada for 2026 World Juniors
The Calgary Flames are expected to loan defenseman Zayne Parekh to Team Canada for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reported Wednesday morning.
Parekh, 19, is currently listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury and will not travel with the Flames on their upcoming five-game road swing; however, Francis indicated that the Flames hope Parekh can return for one of their four home games prior to the start of Team Canada’s 10-day camp in Niagara Falls on December 12.
Through 11 games with the Flames this season, Parekh has collected just one assist while averaging 14:46 of ice time per night. The Flames originally selected the 6′ right-handed defender with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
The Calgary Flames plan on loaning Zayne Parekh to Team Canada for the World Junior Championship next month, Sportsnet's @EricFrancis has learned. https://t.co/Fwd8Px2UMs
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 19, 2025A junior standout with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, Parekh recorded 33 goals in both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons with the club before making the Flames out of camp to start the 2025-26 campaign.
Parekh won the Memorial Cup with the Spirit in 2024 and subsequently became the first OHL defenseman to score 100 points in a single season since Ryan Ellis, who did so with the Windsor Spitfires back in 2010-11.
But amidst his stellar 107-point campaign with Saginaw in 2024-25, Parekh was one of numerous players controversially omitted from Team Canada’s roster for the 2025 World Juniors. Coached by Dave Cameron, Canada struggled to score throughout the tournament and ultimately finished in fifth place.
Fresh off a 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, the Flames currently sit in last place in the entire National Hockey League with a 5-13-3 record. Barring an extremely likely turnaround, they’ll finish the 2025-26 season well outside the playoff picture, marking their fourth consecutive postseason miss.
The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship will take place in Minnesota’s Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, with the opening games slated (as usual) for Boxing Day.