He still lost that board battle to another rookie, who's like 2 times smaller, that costed STL a goal against.
Yeah...it was a great play by Panarin for sure. And having watched Parayko his whole rookie season I can tell you, 1) he learned a lot from that and will make adjustments so that doesn't become a regular occurrence, 2) that was one of the few times this whole season that he's made a mistake that directly led to a goal against. When he does make rookie-mistakes, he's usually able to recover and prevent damage...which is one of the things that makes him truly special.
I have watched Parayko, multiple times. I think you've forgotten how dominant Weber was at his peak...and you're saying he will be better?
He
can be better. Not saying he will. It wouldn't surprise me to see Parayko end up one of the league's top-5 d-men in his prime. Having watched guys like Pronger, MacInnis, Stevens (briefly) and Pietrangelo patrol the blue-line in St. Louis, it's obvious that Parayko has all the tools to be one of the all-time greats in St. Louis.
If he plateaus today and remains exactly what he currently is, the Blues would have a very good number 2 D-man. In three years, with more experience and confidence he could be the envy of the league.