Isa Parekh heads into second season at BSU with ‘stuff to prove’

BEMIDJI – It was a busy summer for Isa Parakh.

The Bemidji State men’s hockey team’s sophomore defenseman was well-traveled. In mid-April, he took a flight to Los Angeles to watch his brother, Zayne, play in his first NHL game with the Calgary Flames – and score his first NHL goal.

A few weeks later, Parekh was named Bemidji State Male Newcomer of the year, an honor awarded to the best men’s freshman athlete among all BSU Athletics programs.

While home in Nobelton, Ontario, Parekh took “like, four trips to the freaking dentist” after he had “root canals done on three teeth, fillings and X-rays” from when he caught a stick in the mouth in an upset over No. 3 Minnesota on Nov. 16. Parekh’s dad, Azim, is a dentist himself at Dr. Parekh and Associates in Alliston, Ontario, but he referred