OHL In The System: Calgary Flames

The latest instalment of OHL In The System examines the Calgary Flames, who selected four different OHL players in last month’s NHL Draft.

This 32-part series spotlights OHL players who are either signed to an NHL or AHL contract or are recently drafted, and are 25 years old or younger with 50 or fewer NHL games played.

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Zayne Parekh (D) – Saginaw Spirit (2022-24)
Selected: 9th Overall, 2024 NHL Draft
OHL Career Stats: 116 Games Played | 54 Goals | 79 Assists | 133 Points
Age: 18
Zayne Parekh followed-up a phenomenal rookie season in the OHL with an even better second campaign, hoisting the Memorial Cup with the Saginaw Spirit. Parekh led all CHL defencemen with 96 points, earning OHL and CHL Defenceman of the Year honours while becoming the highest-drafted Saginaw Spirit player in NHL Draft history at ninth overall. Chosen by the Spirit with the 19th pick of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection, Parekh has blossomed into an elite offensive blueliner who appears poised to run an NHL power play in the very near future.

Jacob Battaglia (RW) – Kingston Frontenacs (2022-24)
Selected: 62nd Overall, 2024 NHL Draft
OHL Career Stats: 133 Games Played | 38 Goals | 54 Assists | 92 Points
Age: 18
Jacob Battaglia increased his scoring output from seven goals and 27 points as a rookie in 2022-23 to 31 goals and 65 points in his sophomore season with Kingston. A sturdy 6-foot, 203Ib. winger, Battaglia doesn’t mind going to the dirty areas and is a strong finisher around the net.

Henry Mews (D) – Ottawa 67’s (2022-24)
Selected: 74th Overall, 2024 NHL Draft
OHL Career Stats: 120 Games Played | 27 Goals | 65 Assists | 92 Points
Age: 18
A forward coming up through the minor hockey ranks, Henry Mews took his offensive talents to the blueline prior to being selected seventh overall by the Ottawa 67’s in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection. He’s developed his defensive game on the blueline under Dave Cameron in Ottawa, coming off a 61-point season (15-46–61) in his sophomore season. Mews was a part of gold medal-winning Canadian teams at both the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2024 IIHF World Under-18 Hockey Championship.

Luke Misa (C) – Brampton Steelheads (2021-24)
Selected: 150th Overall, 2024 NHL Draft
OHL Career Stats: 192 Games Played | 43 Goals | 107 Assists | 150 Points
Age: 18
A late 2005-born forward, Luke Misa benefitted from a third season in the OHL, nearly doubling his 2022-23 point output to produce 26 goals, 55 assists and 81 points over 66 games. The 55 assists set a new Mississauga Steelheads single season club record as his playmaking abilities were on display alongside 2025 NHL Draft prospect Porter Martone with the Trout. A former ninth overall pick in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection, Misa could potentially develop into a great value pick for the Flames, who picked him up in the fifth-round last month.

Hunter Brzustewicz (D) – Kitchener Rangers (2022-24)
Acquired: Trade with Vancouver Jan. 31, 2024
OHL Career Stats: 135 Games Played | 19 Goals | 130 Assists | 149 Points
Age: 19
Hunter Brzustewicz was part of the trade that sent Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks this past January as the Flames acquired him, along with forward Andrei Kuzmenko. In Brzustewicz, the Flames gain a solid puck-mover, one who set a Kitchener Rangers single season franchise record for defencemen in 2023-24 with 79 assists. The Washington, Mich. native was also the recipient of the OHL’s inaugural Ted Baker Teammate of the Year Award for the character he showed overcoming both personal and on-ice adversity during the 2023-24 season. Brzustewicz produced over a point-per-game over his two seasons in the OHL and appears ready to make the leap to the pro ranks this fall.

Artem Grushnikov (D) – Hamilton Bulldogs (2021-23)
Acquired: Trade with Dallas Feb. 28, 2024
OHL Career Stats: 121 Games Played | 13 Goals | 16 Assists | 29 Points
Age: 21
A hard-hitting, defensive-minded blueliner from Russia, Artem Grushnikov played a big role in helping the Hamilton Bulldogs win an OHL Championship in 2022. Formerly a second round (48th overall) pick by the Dallas Stars in 2021, Grushnikov was acquired by Calgary in a deal that saw Dallas acquire blueliner Chris Tanev. Grushnikov was a plus-40 over two seasons in the OHL, not shying away from physicality or shot blocking opportunities. He split the 2023-24 AHL season between the Texas Stars and Calgary Wranglers.

Rory Kerins (C) – Soo Greyhounds (2018-22)
Selected: 174th Overall, 2020 NHL Draft
OHL Career Stats: 188 Goals | 82 Goals | 118 Assists | 200 Points
Age: 22
A former sixth-round pick by Calgary in 2020, Rory Kerins always found ways to put up points in the OHL, continuing his productivity into the pro ranks. Kerins finished his OHL career with 118 points (43-75–118) during the 2021-22 season, stepping into the ECHL with the Rapid City Rush to put up 37 points (17-20–37) in 38 games in 2022-23 before getting a full-time role with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in 2023-24, registering 32 points (16-16–32).

Ilya Solovyov (D) – Saginaw Spirit (2019-20)
Selected: 205th Overall, 2020 NHL Draft
OHL Career Stats: 53 Games Played | 7 Goals | 33 Assists | 40 Points
Age: 23
Belarusian blueliner Ilya Solovyov spent one season in Saginaw, making an impression on the Calgary Flames who selected him in the seventh round the following summer. Solovyov made a good impression in the AHL in 2023-24, getting a 10-game tour with the big club that saw him produce three assists for the Flames.

Cole Schwindt (RW) – Mississauga Steelheads (2017-20)
Acquired: Trade with Florida July 22, 2022
OHL Career Stats: 191 Games Played | 55 Goals | 83 Assists | 138 Points
Age: 23
Acquired by the Flames along with Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar in a deal that sent Matthew Tkachuk to Florida, Cole Schwindt has spent the past two seasons largely with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, where he produced 36 points (14-22–36) in 66 games in 2023-24. A Kitchener, Ont. native, Schwindt’s younger brother Kai also went on to play in the OHL, spending his overage campaign with the Sarnia Sting this past season. Schwindt has gotten into seven NHL games over the past two seasons, and hopes to carve out a full-time role for himself in Calgary.

Nikita Okhotyuk (D) – Ottawa 67’s (2017-20)
Acquired: Trade with San Jose Mar. 8, 2024
OHL Career Stats: 148 Games Played | 10 Goals | 37 Assists | 47 Points
Age: 23
Not unlike the aforementioned Artem Grushnikov, Okhotyuk plays a defence-first style, and became known for big hits and timely shot blocks during his OHL days in Ottawa. Calgary acquired the Russian blueliner in exchange for a fifth-round pick back in March before he recorded one assist in nine games with the Flames to round-out the season. Formerly selected by New Jersey in the second round (61st overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, Okhotyuk has split his four professional seasons between the NHL and the AHL.

Tuesday’s edition of In The System, features the New Jersey Devils organization!