Parmar acclimatizing to life in Red Deer, on and off the ice
By DANNY RODE
Getting traded to the Red Deer Rebels was a shock in more ways than one for Nishaan Parmar.
Not only didn’t he see himself moving on from the Seattle Thunderbirds, but the move to the Prairies found him facing the cold and snow.
“(This Arctic blast) is something to get used to for sure,” said the 18-year-old native of Surrey, B.C. “I don’t think I saw snow like this, ever.”
Almost immediately after the trade, Parmar found himself on a road trip through Saskatchewan.
“It was a little different from what I was used to, but it wasn’t too bad, A good experience with the boys.”
But the weather and travel were second to moving from the Thunderbirds who selected the six-foot-two, 196-pound winger in the seventh round of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft.
“It was a long 48 hours, I wasn’t expecting the trade,” he said. “When it happened, things moved pretty quickly. I had to pack up and get home right away. There was a lot of driving over the two days for sure, but when I got here it was great, everyone was very welcoming, so it’s been good.”
The Rebels completed the trade on Jan. 9 for a pair of draft picks – a fourth rounder in 2025 and a fifth in 2026.
Parmar agrees the trade may be just what he needed.
“My play in Seattle was getting kind of stagnant,” he acknowledged. “I think this is a good restart for me, a good refresh to get things going in a more positive direction.”
Nishaan played 39 games with the T’Birds this season and had accumulated five goals and 13 assists. In 10 games with the Rebels, he has four assists as he looks to build chemistry with a number of other new players moving onto the Red Deer roster.
“It’s good that we’re all together in that we’re all learning the new systems, a new way to play and coming from different teams,” he said. “It’s good to have a bigger group of guys coming in at the same time … it’s good to learn that way.”
Rebels head coach Dave Struch feels Parmar is fitting in nicely.
“We see a lot of good things, but he still has to work on moving his feet, playing hard, being hard to play against and playing physical. If he moves his feet, he’s initiating contact, he’s initiating plays and he’s attacking.
“Because of his size, his ability to make plays and his hockey sense if he plays on his toes more, and we know he can do it as we’ve seen him do it, he’ll really have a lot more success as an individual and in the end that helps the team.”
Parmar sees the ice well, which was evident in his final season with the West Valley Giants U18 AAA team. He finished the season with 25 goals and a league-leading 41 assists in 34 games and named to the first all-star team.
“I think growing up I was more of a pass-first guys,” he said. “I look to create. It comes natural to me. Something I try to bring more to the WHL level and I’m starting to get better for sure.”
Struch likes that part of his game.
“That part is going to be exciting. When he’s consistently engaged on his toes he’ll have the puck more, he’ll create more, have more puck possession. Because of it he’ll be more physical and then obviously get the puck back where he can shoot more and score more.
“There’s no reason why he can’t put himself in those positions, but again it starts with playing on his toes. That will take the thinking out of game and he’ll be initiating more.”
Parmar is looking forward to his first goal with the Rebels.
“It’s been a battle the first few games. It hasn’t come easy, but it will be great when it does.”
Parmar comes out of a solid Seattle program which saw the Thunderbirds win the WHL championship in 2022-23 and play in the Memorial Cup final.
“It was pretty cool to spend some time with the championship team,” said Parmar. “I learned a lot from those players who moved on to play pro hockey. I learned their championship habits and I try to apply that to myself, and it’s really been beneficial for me.”
Growing up in the Surrey area it’s natural for Nishaan to idolize former Rebel Ashdeep Bains.
Bains, who also comes from Surrey, put together an impressive final season with the Rebels in 2021-22 when he finished with 43 goals and 69 assists for 112 points in 68 games.
He signed with the Vancouver Canucks that season and has since played 19 games in the NHL.
“He’s someone I’ve kept tabs on for sure, especially since his last year here in Red Deer,” continued Parmar. “That was something awesome to see. He’s someone I look up to.”
Nishaan has skated with Bains during the summer back home.
“He’s a good guy, nice to watch skate and see how he operates… watching him from affair is beneficial.”
Parmar could have two more seasons with the Rebels, which he hopes will lead to a pro contract.
“That’s the goal,” he said. “It’s something I’m working toward hopefully I have a good finish to my junior career which helps me get there.”
The Rebels are looking forward to an extended home stand which sees them play at the Peavey Mart Centrium 11 of the next 12 games.
“It’s going to be nice to be at home, to get into a routine, a rhythm,” said Parmar.
The Rebels have a tough road ahead of them if they hope to make the playoffs. They’re 10 points behind the eighth place Swift Current Broncos in the Eastern Conference. The Broncos have played two less games than the Rebels.
But the Rebels do head into Friday’s 7 p.m. meeting with the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors riding a two-game winning streak – a pair of 3-0 road victories over Regina and Moose Jaw.
The Rebels have benefited of late with the return of key veterans Jhett Larson, Kalan Lind and Ollie Josephson from injuries.
“There’s the energy, the leadership. The guys are talking on the bench, in the room,” said Struch.
“Winning helps but even leading up to the two wins we started to do good things with Josephson, Lind, Larson back. We started to have some confidence, some positive energy. Obviously, we got the two wins, now we have to build on it.”
