Team Canada has named 32 players to its selection camp for the 2025 World Junior tournament, and top Calgary Flames prospect Zayne Parekh was not among them.
The 2024 ninth-overall pick was snubbed by Team Canada despite having a strong showing at Flames training camp earlier this season and a red-hot start with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, scoring eight goals and 3o points through the first 22 games of the season.
That puts him in third place among OHL defencemen, ahead of all the other invites save for San Jose Sharks first-rounder Sam Dickinson.
The Athletic’s Corey Pronman shared the full Canadian camp roster this morning.
Canada’s World Junior camp roster. pic.twitter.com/0iZcq4Rs4Y
— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) December 2, 2024
Not a single Flames prospect will be wearing the red and white at this year’s World Junior tournament because Parekh did not crack the selection camp roster. This is sure to be a disappointing development for not only Flames fans but also team management.
Having Parekh play at the iconic international tournament would have given the Flames GM Craig Conroy and company a better look at how Parekh handles himself against the best of his peers. Rather, Parekh will now have to watch on the sidelines.
It’s a shocking omission with everything that has happened with Parekh since he was drafted by the Flames. He was involved in Canada’s World Junior showcase over the summer and, seemingly, had done nothing but improve his stock with his strong play in the OHL to start the season.
Some other notable omissions from Canada’s selection roster are Tij Iginla, drafted sixth overall by Utah in 2024, and Carter Yakemchuk, who was also drafted seventh overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2024.