'Be Trustworthy'

The Zayne Train is leaving the station.

Ninth-overall pick Zayne Parekh headlines a list of top prospects slated to make their Flames pre-season debuts Sunday, as Calgary skips across the Rockies for an evening contest against the Seattle Kraken (8 p.m. MT, calgaryflames.com).

Parekh is expected to be joined on the blue line by fellow OHL offensive stalwart Hunter Brzustewicz, while forward Matvei Gridin - himself a first-round pick in the most recent NHL Draft - draws in up front alongside fellow first-rounders Sam Honzek, Jakob Pelletier and Matt Coronato.

Flames head coach Ryan Huska has some talented offensive players at his disposal, but he cautioned Sunday that the process of doing things correctly should be top of mind.

“You want to make sure that they understand how important it is to be trustworthy on the ice, that’s the most important thing,” he said. “You also want them to understand that when you do everything the right way, you don’t ever have to force offence, and I think that’s something they’re going to learn as they move here.

“But I don’t want them focused on structure, I want them to play the game the way they know how to play it. Just remember, the coaches love habits and details.”

Parekh, in particular, has eye-popping numbers already on his resume. The reigning Canadian Hockey League defenceman of the year scored 33 times at OHL Saginaw a season ago.

He’s got all the tools, according to Huska, but tonight, as has been the case since Parekh was drafted less than three months ago, is about continuing to learn.

Continuing to grow.

“I think Zayne’s gotten better every day, and you can see where his skill set’s at,” Huska said. “His feet are elite, the way he moves along the blue line in particular, and he passes the puck like an NHL pro.

“As I mentioned, I feel that he is one of those players that right from the start of prospects camp and through Penticton, each game he’s had, each practice he’s had he’s gotten better and better. That’s what you want out of them, is that they keep getting better every day.”

The young Flames face a Kraken team that is expected to dress several key players from last year’s lineup including forwards Jordan Eberle, Matty Beniers and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

18-year-old Berkly Catton - picked one spot ahead of Parekh in the 2024 NHL Draft - is also likely to make his NHL exhibition debut.

More than anything tonight, Huska is hoping his charges tap into the type of enthusiasm - the hype - that a debut in Flames colours should bring.

Even if some of the fine-tuning is still a work in progress.

“We are looking for energy from our guys,” he said. “We want them to play hard, and we want to make sure that some of the things that we’ve started to incorporate, just a few little things of how we expect our guys to play away from the puck, (that) we see some really good examples of that tonight.”