It is that time of year again when the World Junior Championship is set to start. The Calgary Flames will likely have two players on the Canadian final roster, with Zayne Parekh and Cole Reschny. Both of these guys are the top prospects in the Flames organization, looking to have a significant impact in the upcoming tournament.
One question to ask from the Flames’ perspective is what the organization do with Parekh once he returns from the WJC?
Let’s take a look at what the lineup could look like with or without him.
Lines without Parekh (right now)
As of right now, this is what the Flames defensive core looks like without Parekh in the lineup.
Kevin Bahl – Ramus Andersson
Yan Kuznetsov – MacKenzie Weegar
Joel Hanley – Hunter Brzustewicz
With Parekh out, some other younger defencemen, such as Kuznetsov and Brzustewicz, have stepped into a bigger role with the Flames. Both of these guys have been playing really well, making a statement to stay in the lineup. With the young guns playing almost every night, Brayden Pachal has found himself being a regular healthy scratch. Pachal has been a serviceable depth defenceman who brings some great physicality to the lineup.
Unfortunately, the fast and young puck moving defencemen are more likely to get ice time in a tank season. It was also recently reported that defenceman Jake Bean will be out long-term due to surgery. Apparently, this is something that the defenceman had been dealing with for a while.
Since Bean is out and Pachal is scratched, there will need to be someone else to come out of the lineup when Parekh returns. In my opinion, Hanley should come out of the lineup and be another healthy scratch. The veteran defenceman has simply taken away ice time for the younger guys and could be a serviceable depth defenceman for a better team. The Flames may need to make a trade or send somebody down when Parekh has completed the WJC.
Lines with Parekh
In my opinion, when Parekh returns from the WJC, the Flames’ defensive lines should look like this.
Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson
MacKenzie Weegar – Zayne Parekh
Yan Kuznetsov – Hunter Brzustewicz
I feel like this lineup would be a solid one to go with because it gives the veterans important ice time (Andersson trade value) and gets the young guys consistent playing time. With how the 2025–26 season has gone for the Flames, there is no doubt that any young player in the organization deserves a shot to play a few games. On the defensive side of things, the Flames have multiple guys ready to take on an NHL role. Kuznetsov has already appeared in twenty one games this year. He has proven that he belongs in the NHL, as his pace and composure are pretty good for his age (twenty three).
On the other hand, Parekh and Brzustewicz have only seen limited ice time at the NHL level. Parekh has appeared in eleven games, while Brzustewicz has appeared in four. One could say that it makes sense that Parekh has played so little, considering he struggled early in the year and dealt with an injury. However, assuming Parekh gains a lot of confidence from the WJC, he should get good minutes once he returns. That would include second line minutes with power play time.
Now, Brzustewicz got called up just under two weeks ago. With Jake Bean most likely being out for a while, that alone should solidify his consistent spot in the lineup. Brzustewicz is mainly known for being a puck moving defenceman who can produce some offence. He and Parekh, as a future one-two offensive defenceman, could be a joy to watch as a Flames fan. Huska better keep him in the lineup because if Hanley or Pachal play over him, the fanbase will be in even more disarray.
What to expect from Parekh at the WJC
This upcoming WJC has the most anticipation for Flames fans in quite some time. The franchise will likely look forward to watching two first-round picks from the organization represent Team Canada. The last top prospect that the Flames got to watch dominate the WJC was Matthew Tkachuk in 2016 with Team USA (and he was not even drafted yet). This franchise is due to have some top end talent at the tournament, and they will get it in Parekh and Reschny.
Team Canada recently cut three players, including Jackson Smith, Jake O’Brien, and Marek Vanacker. This pretty much solidifies Parekh and Reschny making the team, as the roster is now at an acceptable amount. If this is the roster moving forward, I would expect Parekh to receive a significant amount of ice time. He will likely be the quarterback of the top power play unit and is a crucial factor for Canada’s success.
Defenceman Cole Hutson led the tournament in points last year. Is this something that Parekh could replicate in this year’s tournament? Team Canada desperately needs a bounce back performance after back-to-back quarterfinal losses. Tune in when Canada’s 2026 tournament kicks off on Boxing Day against Czechia.
Up Next: Analyzing more Calgary Flames trades heading into the holidays
