The off-season is in full swing and the Calgary Flames were busy at the draft and in free agency. Craig Conroy signed Devin Cooley, Ryan Lomberg and Anthony Mantha, while bolstering the defence with the signing of Jake Bean.
At the draft, Conroy and the Flames selected Zayne Parekh with the ninth overall pick, adding another high end talent to their defensive prospect pool alongside Hunter Brzustewicz, Jeremie Poirier and Ilya Solovyov. With an overhauled back end, there could be opportunity coming out of fall camp for one of these names to crack the opening night roster.
We wanted to know which defensive prospect fans think has the best opportunity to make the roster opening night. We asked, you answered.
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Reader responses
We presented the below poll to our readers.
Zayne Parekh
Parekh is the newest Flames prospect on the list and has garnered plenty of attention in his first few weeks with the team. Collecting collecting 29% of the vote, Parekh narrowly wins this week’s poll, and rightfully so. The ninth overall pick at the 2024 draft is unique to say the least. His game is almost exclusively compared to Erik Karlsson due to his exceptional offensive talent. Although Parekh wasn’t the best all-around defencemen on the board at pick nine, he has the best offensive skillset of the entire defensive class.
Not to mention, the outspoken and charismatic young Canadian is also extremely smart. Parekh was a highschool graduate at 15 and has since been attending classes at the University of Toronto. Exceptional talent and brain.
With Parekh coming off a Memorial Cup win and the Flames in rebuild mode, Conroy has stressed the importance of not rushing the process with prospects such as Parekh. The young defenceman could have other plans though.
His performance at Flames development camp was described as one of the best anyone had seen in recent memory. Although it’s only development camp and it’s more likely Parekh joins the team mid season, if at all, there’s no denying he has a real chance to crack the Flames’ opening roster.
Hunter Brzustewicz
Brzustewicz, acquired as part of the Elias Lindholm trade to the Vancouver Canucks, finished last in this weeks poll with 18% of the vote. Despite Brzustewicz finishing second in OHL scoring amongst defenders this past season, it seems fans think he’ll have a better transition starting in the AHL.
Brzustewicz was the Canucks’ third round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft and has a well rounded game with high upside. Its makes sense for Brzustewicz to take the next step to the AHL to grow his game after another successful season with the Kitchener Rangers last year.
Jeremie Poirier
Maybe the most mysterious name on the list, Poirier collected 25% of this weeks vote, finishing closely in third place. The Flames’ 2020 third-round pick only played in 22 games last season after a startling wrist laceration sidelined him for the majority of the year. There was much anticipation amongst fans for Poirier to make a potential NHL debut last season after 41 points in 69 games during the Wranglers 2022-23 campaign, earning him AHL All Rookie honours.
Poirier is back healthy and will undoubtedly be hungry for an opportunity to crack the NHL roster this season. Poirier’s smooth skating and creative play style add to the list of exciting defensive prospects Flames fans can look forward to in the coming years.
Ilya Solovyov
Maybe the most objectively NHL ready of the bunch, Solovyov finished second by a mere 1% in this weeks poll, collecting 28% of the vote. The 6’3”, 216lb Belarussian defenceman made his NHL debut last season, playing in 10 games with the Flames. The stay-at-home defender was selected 205th overall of the 2020 NHL draft by the Flames and has played parts of two seasons with the Wranglers.
In his 10 NHL games last season, Solovyov tallied three assists, four PIMs and was a minus-three. Although Solovyov may not be the most exciting Flames prospect, his skillset is best suited for the role the team could have to offer come September.
Competition
Competition within a team is key to personal growth, and also drastically impacts team culture. The fact we’re having this conversation in July is because for the first time in a long time, Flames fans can be legitimately excited about their prospect pool.
With a brand new look to the Flames, let’s hope all four of the players above become staples of the team in years to come. It might not look great yet, but it seems the Flames are headed in the right direction with some exceptional talent on the horizon.
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