Terik Parascak had low hopes going into the 2024 NHL Draft.
Terik Parascak came into the 2024 NHL Draft with modest expectations. He’d brought “close to 40 or 50” family members to Vegas, but most projections suggested that he’d be a late first-round or second-round pick despite his strong season with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars.
The Washington Capitals went off the board to select Parascak with the 17th overall pick, and the announcement surprised Parascak himself as much as anyone else.
Video of his reaction soon made it to social media, capturing the shock of both Parascak and his father Brad upon hearing his name called.
“I’m at such a loss for words,” he said of the pick. “It’s such an honor, just so excited for what’s coming.”
Although he’d had several positive meetings with the Caps ahead of the draft, Parascak didn’t know the team planned on taking him.
“I really didn’t know what to expect and it was all kind of just play everything by ear,” he said. “That was my whole year, just go with the flow of everything and I was definitely surprised but I couldn’t be more excited.”
Parascak made quite the splash in his first full WHL season. His 105 points (43g, 62a) in 68 games ranked eighth in WHL scoring, and he led all CHL rookies in both goals and points, earning him the nickname “Super Rookie.”
“I’m pretty sure it was just our play-by-play guy [who] said it after I scored one goal at the start of the year [and I] kind of went on a little bit of a tear at the start there,” Parascak said of the nickname. “I was hot and finding the back of the net, so I think they just started calling me that from that broadcast and it just caught on and I think that’s — everybody calls me that now.”
While Parascak admitted he largely prefers to stay out of the limelight, the moniker stuck.
“It’s obviously a super cool nickname,” he said with a grin. “It definitely got old after a while and I don’t love the attention that much like that, but obviously super cool to have a nickname like that.”
He spent much of the year playing alongside Zac Funk, who the Capitals signed to a three-year entry-level deal this spring. Funk led the CHL in goals (67) and earned a spot on the CHL First All-Star Team this season, later briefly serving as a Black Ace for the Hershey Bears.
“We just clicked instantly and were able to find good chemistry,” Parascak said of Funk.
Parascak described himself as a versatile player — while his flashy box stats stand out at first glance, he also supplements his game with strong defensive play.
“The kind of player I am, I can play a lot of different roles,” he said. “I think that offensive side of my game for sure and I think this year I definitely developed that defensive side. I can play on the penalty kill, I can be trusted in those late minutes of a game to get pucks out of the zone and defend the lead as well.”
Parascak may have grown up thousands of miles from DC, but he was already familiar with at least one player on his new team. He told reporters Friday that he had long looked up to Capitals forward TJ Oshie, naming him as someone he’d patterned his game after.
“Always thought of his game and similarities in mine, so I really enjoy watching him and that’s definitely one guy for sure,” he said.
When told of the comparison, Mahoney admitted Parascak would have big shoes to fill to match Oshie’s contributions in Washington. Still, he saw places where the pair’s skills could match up.
“It’s not fair when you start to compare players to such good players,” he said with a laugh. “I mean TJ Oshie is such a good hockey player and been so good for us, but there are a lot of similarities. They’re not six foot three; they’re more around that 5’11”, 6′ tall. But the hands and the sense and the release on his shot. And also [he’s] not afraid to go to the dirty areas to score goals, just like TJ Oshie and really good on puck retrievals.”
“There are a lot of similarities, but that’s a… I could only hope he ends up being as good as that TJ Oshie. That would be fantastic for us.”