The 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 28-29 at Sphere in Las Vegas. The first round will be June 28 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and Rounds 2-7 are June 29 (11:30 a.m. ET; ESPN+, NHLN, SN, SN1). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a profile on Prince George forward Terik Parascak. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.
Terik Parascak stands out for his hockey sense on the ice. But he's also shown a great understanding for how the game works off the ice.
That's why he didn't pout or get upset when Prince George sent him to Edge School for another season of bantam hockey in 2022-23.
The result was Parascak returning to Prince George this season with another level to his game, and leading Western Hockey League rookies with 105 points (43 goals, 62 assists) 68 games. It's the most points by a first-year WHL player since Pavel Brendl had 134 points (73 goals, 61 assists) in 68 games for Calgary in 1998-99.
Parascak also was second among rookies in the WHL playoffs with 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 12 games.
The 18-year-old is No. 15 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters for the 2024 draft.
"I've actually been cut from quite a few teams growing up," Parascak said. "That year especially, I recognized that the minutes I would get and I wouldn't be in the role that I kind of play, that fits my style of game. So, I really actually understood in the moment kind of what I was feeling and how that would actually help me out in the future.
"The year that I had last year with just kind of the development year and obviously we had a really good team last year, we won a championship, so that was another great thing. The development last year was awesome."