Michael Misa, Zayne Parekh Named to Hockey Canada's World Junior Camp Roster
Published on December 8, 2025 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release
Calgary, AB - Hockey Canada announced Monday its camp roster for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship. Among the number of players invited are a pair of Saginaw Spirit stars, forward Michael Misa and defenseman Zayne Parekh. Team Canada's camp will be held at the Gale Centre in Niagara Falls, Ont. from December 12-22.
Michael Misa, the second overall selection of the 2025 NHL Draft, is in the middle of a two-week conditioning stint with the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League (AHL). Misa has an assist in two games with the Barracuda as he returns from an injury. The 18-year-old forward has a goal and two assists in his first seven NHL games with the San Jose Sharks. He made his NHL debut with the Sharks on October 14 and scored his first NHL goal on October 26.
Zayne Parekh got his first taste of NHL action at the tail end of last season, scoring in his first NHL game with the Calgary Flames on April 17. The Flames drafted Parekh ninth overall at the 2024 NHL Draft, making him the highest-drafted Spirit player until Misa went second overall a year later. Parekh has an assist in 11 games with the Flames this year prior to being sidelined with an injury.
The two players have their names all over the Spirit record book and their trophy cases full of awards from their time in Saginaw. Misa is the all-time leading scorer in Spirit history with 113G-152A-265P in 177 career regular season games. He also owns the single-season scoring record after a 134-point campaign in (62G-72A) in 2024-2025. His work last year earned him the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL's Most Outstanding Player, the Eddie Powers Trophy as its Top Scorer, and a spot on the CHL and OHL First All-Star Teams.
Parekh is the highest-scoring defenseman in Spirit history and tied for third among all Spirit players with 87G-153A-240P in 177 career games. His 153 assists place him one ahead of Misa for the team's all-time lead. After 107 points (33G-74A) in 2024-2025, Parekh was the highest-scoring defenseman in the OHL for a second consecutive season. A 96-point season the year before (33G-63A) earned him both OHL and CHL Defenseman of the Year honors.
Both Misa (2G-6A-8P) and Parekh (3A) were members of Team Canada's Hlinka Gretzky Cup gold medal in 2024. The international victory came just months after the pair led Saginaw to a 2024 Memorial Cup Championship (Misa 5A, Parekh 1G-4A-5P).
This year's World Junior camp will mark the first for Michael Misa, while Zayne Parekh was a late addition to last year's camp. Both players were on Team Canada's World Junior Summer Showcase roster this past summer and look to appear in the tournament for the first time.
The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship will be held in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minn. from December 26, 2024 to January 5, 2026.
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