Calgary Flames prospect Zayne Parekh’s December was hectic.

The ninth-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft suited up nine times for the Saginaw Spirit, was initially left off the list of Canada’s World Juniors selection camp roster, secured a late invite because of injury and was then cut from the team, and took a family trip to Florida.

Over the past calendar year, Parekh has been named the Canadian Hockey League's defenceman of the year, won a Memorial Cup, was drafted by the Flames, and attended his first pro training camp.

He spoke with TSN’s Salim Valji on Tuesday about his season in the Ontario Hockey League, his experience at the World Juniors selection camp, and how he’s evolved as a player over the past year.

TSN: You had a pretty crazy December where you were playing a lot for the Spirit and had the World Juniors camp. How was last month for you?

Parekh: It was a bit of running around, for sure. It was a weird month of December where [I] was a little all over the place, but I ended up finishing with my club and had a good Christmas, which was nice, and got some time to spend with family.

TSN: How was your experience at the World Junior selection camp?

Parekh: It was a short camp. There ended up being like, two or three days, and we played against those U Sports teams. It wasn't too easy, because they're big boys and they're strong, and they play really hard. So, it was a lot different than what I'm used to. I thought I did well in the time I had, and obviously, didn't end up making a team, which is pretty unfortunate. I was put in a little bit of a different role, which I wasn't used to, and I wasn't able to adjust quick enough, obviously, [which is] probably the reason I didn't make........

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