Leaders Lead

STOCKHOLM - Zayne Parekh didn't know the rule.

MacKenzie Weegar was quick to school the teenager.

No joggers at dinner.

"They're just not the play at dinner time," Weegar laughed from the 2025 World Championship, where the pair got to bond further in some pre-tournament action together with Canada.

"'Backs' doesn't like that stuff."

One can forgive the faux pas, of course.

It's not as if Parekh, fresh to the Flames following his season with Saginaw in the Ontario Hockey League, is a veteran around a table of established NHLers.

There's a learning curve involved for these sorts of things, after all.

And that's where Weegar enters, sitting with the 19-year-old Parekh for three hours after the season wrapped to impart some words of wisdom to the wiz-kid who will be vying for full-time duty in Calgary next season.

"He was giving me (crap) because I don't own a pair of jeans," Parekh revealed at locker clean-out in April. "I showed up to the team dinner in these joggers and 'Weegsy' and 'Backs' have been giving it to me for like the last three or four days. He was giving me crap about that."

Tough lesson to learn from a guy who can chirp with the best of them.

But, beyond the dress code violation, there were important pearls dropped from the 31-year-old veteran of 10 seasons and 550 regular-season skates.

"We talked about the culture here and the way you do things in the NHL and how things are," Parekh reflected. "I know it was three or four hours, and I was probably a little tired, but I learned a lot from him.

"That speaks wonders to the kind of character that obviously he has and obviously the guys have here. That kind of makes me feel so happy, I guess, because you don’t know what to expect going into an NHL locker-room. The way these guys treated me, there’s no better feeling than that.”

It's an important gesture for the freshman.

It shows an important development from Weegar - over a decade Parekh's senior - too.

"MacKenzie... we've talked a lot over the year about the leadership that he's brought to the table this year for us, and I think he really gets it now," said Flames head coach Ryan Huska, also with Canada on the Worlds stage.

"That's the one thing with MacKenzie. He understands where he's at in his career and he understands the responsibility he bears with our team, and a big part of that is helping bring people along.

"He recognizes the calibre of player Zayne is, and I think he was trying to do everything and anything he can, one, feel comfortable, and two, give him a few tips and suggestions to help him come along."

Parekh, of course, is the prized pupil in the organization.

He was selected in the first round, 9th overall, at the 2024 NHL Draft - and after a second electrifying season in the junior ranks in which he totalled 33 goals and 107 points, looks poised to push for a right-shot position on Calgary's blueline this fall despite his age.

That, perhaps, makes the gesture, from one generation to the next, all the more impressive.

There's only so many seats at the table, and Weegar holds the one at the head.

So why do that?

"Because he's going to be a big part of this hockey team," Weegar said.

"He's obviously a young kid. He's got some things to learn, and I just wanted to be there for him and let him know what our team is like and how our culture is, how our identity is, and how things are kind of done around Calgary. I know he's coming off a big OHL season and stuff like that, but it's a full team in our room. When you come into our dressing room, there are no egos. You're selfless and you play your role.

"He gets it. I know he's going to be an awesome player. I want him to keep his swag and be the type of player he's got to be. I just wanted him just to kind of hear it from me and let him be comfortable. I know how tough it is when you come in at a young age and you're nervous.

"He didn't even have jeans. I helped him out.

"I just wanted him to have fun and be comfortable and be himself, but at the same time show him the culture and the identity of this group."