Zayne Parekh Profile, Is he a Future Chicago Blackhawk?

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As Blackhawk Up begins to wind down our potential future Blackhawks draft eligible series (midseason edition) it's important to note that orginally Zayne Parekh was not suppose to be apart of the contingent of players considered with the Hawks' upcoming first selection of the 2024 draft. His play on the other hand, has made him impossible to ignore. Let's dive in...

Zayne Parekh, depending on where you look, is between a 6-0 to 6-1 180-190lb right shot defenseman playing for the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL. The Ontario province native will turn 18 this month and is quite literally one of the most unique and dynamic offensive blue liners to along in quite some time.

Saginaw Spirit v Windsor Spitfires / Dennis Pajot/GettyImages

Tied for 5th in the entire OHL in points (66pts in 44 games) while also leading in goals by a defenseman (regardless of age) Parekh shows tremendous puck skills as well as some of the best dekes, tight turns, cut backs, and skating moves that a defender at this age has ever shown. Those superlatives are held in high esteem usually reserved for players such as Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Shea Theodore, or more recently drafted Lane Hutson (though to a slightly lesser degree).

Let's see some of these skill traits....

To see those adjectives on his skating and game overall are great, but let's take a step back for one second and get a background on just how the Parekh family voyage got to Canada (and to hockey). From India to England to Canada (per Sportsnet):

In summary, the NHL is about to get one of the more unique players (on and off the ice) and we for one hope that the league promotes this young man (in the best possible light). His game speaks even more volumes as you can see in the highlight package below (via NHL Draft Pros):

That particular breakdown video is a little over 2 months old, so you'll have to keep in mind he has been on an absolute tear scoring wise of late. You'll see the positives though: offensive IQ, great quick wrist shot, and skating ability paired with quick hands to create immediate scoring chances. The negatives, while still young and correctable, are that he activates too often and can leave his D partner on an island as well as his tendency to not use his body in situations that call for a physical pinch of a forward attacking the zone.

In the next highlight video (you can fast forward to around the 1:30 mark, video via blue chip prospect) these are dynamic goals and passing quick hitters from last season, but shows just an elite set of hands at high speed through traffic that you just don't see from defenseman at then 16 years old.

Would the Blackhawks consider drafting Zayne Parekh?

It's hard to deny that Zayne Parekh is one of the most intriguing and talented prospects in this upcoming draft. His skill traits as an offensive defenseman are at an elite level when it comes to his skating prowess, shifty-ness, offensive IQ in terms of activation, and his wrist shot. As an RD and at a decently projected size and frame, it's easy to imagine Zayne Parekh not escpaing the top 10 in the 2024 draft.

Chicago, just 2 drafts ago, drafted Kevin Korchinski as a potential long term solution as a power play quarterback though. Eventhough Parekh is a right shot, with Korchinski as a left shot, having Parekh in the system would definitely seem like a luxury over maybe some more glaring needs. Then there are the concerns over the ability to play a two way game. While fleet of foot (skate), Parekh tends to rely on his stick poke checks when defending instead of using stand-ups or physcially pinching in gap coverage.

When it comes to Zayne Parekh, the most likely sceanrio is that a team drafting in the 5-10 range that is looking for a dynamic offensive blue liner that can lead a power play from the point while activating in 5 on 5 rushes will select the OHL standout. If that is Chicago, Blackhawk Up would be surprised but not disappointed for the simple reason that a player like this doesn't come around that often.

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