Zayne Parekh is one of the 2024 NHL Draft’s most exciting players
Steven Ellis joined Daily Faceoff Live as part of ‘The Next Wave’ and talked about Saginaw Spirit defenseman and 2024 draft prospect Zayne Parekh. Parekh has taken the OHL by storm where he leads all defensemen with a whopping 87 points this season. Ellis highlights what makes Parekh such a threat and how the new age of defensemen try to emulate Makar and Hughes.
Colby Cohen: There’s a defenseman in your rankings who is making some serious noise right now and I know you’re excited to talk about him.
Steven Ellis: Yeah, that’s Zayne Parekh out in the OHL with the Saginaw Spirit. I can’t remember the exact number of points but I think he’s at 87 right now, the season is almost over and he is on pace for just under 100 points. He has 31 goals, he is a defenseman, a defenseman like when I think of some of the best offensive defensemen to come out of the OHL in recent years you look at Pavel Mintyuov, Jamie Drysdale, Brandt Clarke and Parekh is up there. He has an incredible shot, he’s one of the top play drivers and just again, look at his point totals for a defenseman, that’s impressive because you don’t normally even see this type of production out of a 20-year-old let alone a guy that is draft eligible.
Steven Ellis: I’m a big fan of him, he’s got the size, and he’s very mobile too, but I think the big concern for him is he is still a work in progress defensively. That has become a trend in recent years where you see guys like Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes who are so good with the puck, and good defensively, but players are trying to emulate that and they are missing the defensive aspect.
Steven Ellis: A good example would be Henry Mews out of the Ottawa 67’s organization, another draft-eligible player, he only started to play defense four or five years ago so he’s still on that new side of defense. But when you look at Parekh, I think the upside is he can be an incredible player if he can lock down his defensive zone play. I have him at No. 11 in my rankings because there are players who are a bit more polished than him but in terms of upside, I love this guy and his potential, I think he will be a top-5 player in a re-draft five years down the line.