CALGARY – If anyone wondered whether Zayne Parekh’s comments about NHLers being robots with no personality were noticed by his teammates in Calgary, MacKenzie Weegar can confirm.
“We’ve spoken about it already a little bit on the text,” said Weegar Monday morning, of a lengthy string he’s shared with Parekh throughout the world juniors.
“I think he does feel a little bit bad about it, which is OK.”
Parekh confirmed as much late Monday when he apologized while celebrating Canada’s bronze medal win over Finland.
“I think some things got spun out of proportion… probably worded things wrongly,” he told reporters in Minnesota.
“But obviously it wasn’t my intent in the words I said, and I sincerely apologize to the Flames organization and my teammates. At the end of the day, that’s not acceptable and that can’t happen.”
Lesson clearly learned.
Parekh’s play and personality were the talk of the teenage tourney in Minnesota over the last few weeks, as the 19-year-old appeared to re-ignite the swagger he lost in the mountain of expectations the first half of his first NHL season.
However, in the midst of scoring five goals and adding eight helpers to set a Canadian record for points from a defenceman in the Christmas tourney, the ever-smiling Parekh was asked last week why he’s so comfortable baring his soul to the media.
“I think it’s more watching NHL guys be robots and not having any personality,” said Parekkh, who will join the Flames on their five-game eastern road swing, which starts Wednesday in Montreal.
“I think you need some personality, and it’s the best way to grow the game. I don’t want to come in here and be a robot. When I’m in Calgary, I definitely have a lot of guys that are telling me to give really simple answers. But here I could kind of do what I want.”
Indeed, there are those in the organization who believe the team’s ninth pick overall in 2024 has a tendency to “overshare” when it comes to personal issues, and his early confidence issues as an NHLer.
It makes for great copy, debate and interest surrounding the most intriguing first-rounder in Calgary since Matthew Tkachuk, who incidentally also had a penchant for providing the press (and, thus, the fans) with much more than what the average NHLer is willing to offer.
However, in a league where team comes first and sticking out is shunned internally, colourful players like Parekh are bound to ruffle feathers amongst their brethren’s sea of beige at times.
Even though he’s accurate, it doesn’t fly when you’re young and unproven.
“I kind of knew that it wasn’t a personal shot at the guys, because I know in here that we don’t say that to him anyway,” said Weegar of the advice to keep answers short.
“I think he just was under the spotlight. His words just kind of tripped up on him a little bit. I don’t take it personally. I understand where he’s coming from. I don’t like when the NHL players are robots either. I like when there’s more personality in the game. There’s just a way to show your personality. I think we have one of the best personalities in the league in this room with Lombo (Ryan Lomberg), and he shows it great. And he’s a leader at the same time. So I think that’s just one of those things for him, where he can kind of look back on and learn from it.”
Instead of talking about his record-setting performance, the conversation surrounding him revolves around his comments.
That said, any suggestions that his Flames teammates are furious would be a gross overstatement.
“I think you’ve got to take it with a grain of salt,” said Nazem Kadri, himself a brash youngster in his day.
“Everybody’s on their high horse at the world juniors. Everybody’s excited, fired up. It’s the best players for your age group, it can tend to excite you and overly stimulate you. He’s a confident kid. I like the swagger.
“I wouldn’t make a huge deal of it. I mean, maybe we’ll chat with him, discuss it a little bit, but I don’t think it’s going to be too distracting.”
Asked if he’d ever said something out of turn as a youngster, Kadri shrugged.
“I mean, you always get some guys that take things out of context, and try to spin it certain ways,” said Kadri.
“But that’s part of being a young player, understanding you’ve got to be a little political in a sense. But I don’t think you understand that till you mature a little bit.”
In light of his apology, the comments might not have to be addressed as seriously as originally thought.
“We won’t let him off the hook that easy, there will be some jokes flying around,” laughed Weegar, who is definitely not the robot sort.
“He’s a good kid. He really means well, and he (had) a great tournament.
“The truth about it is there are guys in the league that are robots. So, there is some truth to it. And I think for the game to grow, you need personality.
“There’s obviously a lot of hype around the kid, and he’s in the spotlight a lot, so I think I kind of understood where he’s coming from. I like that from him.”
