Just a year ago, Terik Parascak was coming off a draft-minus-one season that he spent mainly with The Edge School, a U18 prep team that he led in scoring.

Only participating in five WHL games last season with the Prince George Cougars, the Lethbridge product only got the chance to show off his motor and checking ability in a depth role. He flew so far under the radar he may as well have been a B2 stealth bomber.

However, development, opportunity, and time can be powerful factors in twisting fate.

Fast forward to the present day, and things couldn't look any different for Parascak. A runner-up for the WHL’s Rookie of the Year award, the Canadian winger was eighth in league scoring, amassing 105 points across 68 games, scoring 43 goals for the Cougars.

Suddenly, he wasn’t an afterthought in conversations about the 2024 NHL Draft but a fixture across most rankings.

From the start of the season, Parascak started on an offensive tear that never ceased. Across his first 10 games of the season, he had already scored 19 points. While many expected a drop-off, with Koehn Ziemmer going out with an injury early in the season, he became too important, becoming a staple on the number one powerplay and penalty kill while flip-flopping between Prince George’s first and second lines.

Riding shotgun with play drivers such as Riley Heidt, Zac Funk, and fellow 2024 NHL Draft prospect Ondřej Becher, it’s not shocking that most evaluators treat Parascak’s production with an asterisk. All three of the aforementioned players landed in the top 15 in WHL scoring – it’s an easy connection to make.

Nevertheless, while valid, that argument ignores the value of a player who can connect and finish plays. Parascak’s game is ultimately built around his hockey sense and specialization off-puck – something that NHL teams hunt for each trade deadline.