Skip to content

Flames sign 2024 first-round picks Parekh, Gridin to three-year entry-level contracts

CALGARY — The Calgary Flames have signed 2024 first-round draft picks Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin to three-year entry-level contracts. The average annual value for both contracts will be US$975,000.
d3e59af9-6307-44d9-93ff-c17a824d894e
Zayne Parekh, center, poses after being selected by the Calgary Flames during the first round of the NHL hockey draft Friday, June 28, 2024, in Las Vegas. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Steve Marcus

CALGARY — The Calgary Flames have signed 2024 first-round draft picks Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin to three-year entry-level contracts.

The average annual value for both contracts will be US$975,000.

The 18-year-old Parekh was taken ninth overall after a 2023-24 campaign that saw him score 33 goals and dish out 63 assists in 66 regular-season games before helping lead the Saginaw Spirit to a Memorial Cup title.

His 1.45 points per game was the highest by a blue liner in the Ontario Hockey League since 2009, earning him OHL and Canadian Hockey League defenceman of the year honours.

Gridin, selected 28th overall, had a career year with the Muskegon Lumberjacks, scoring 38 goals and 45 assists to lead the USHL in scoring and earning first-team all-star honours.

The Flames also signed second-round pick Etienne Morin to a three-year entry-level deal that carries an AAV of $903,400.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2024.

The Canadian Press