Canucks’ draft plans for Caleb Malhotra take a shocking twist originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Caleb Malhotra seems made for the Vancouver Canucks.
After all, his father Manny Malhotra is the new head coach of the Canucks as of this offseason.
It would be a father-son connection if the Canucks drafted Caleb Malhotra with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
All along, it’s been easy to assume that that’s what they do. But it may not actually happen later this week.
In a new article by NHL insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Pagnotta pours some cold water on the ongoing idea.
“I’m not expecting the Vancouver Canucks to select Caleb Malhotra with the third-overall selection, if he’s available,” Pagnotta writes.
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That would certainly go against the general assumptions all along.
This wouldn’t just be a case of nepotism, either, because Malhotra can play.
“Malhotra, however, has been on a rocket ship trajectory late in his draft year, morphing into a top offensive producer for Brantford down the stretch and into the OHL playoffs,” The Athletic’s Thomas Drance wrote earlier this offseason. “He’s 6-2, he has plus wheels, he’s a conscientious, physically assertive two-way center, and his production down the stretch has begun to draw comparisons to Jonathan Toews from his biggest admirers in the scouting community.”
The Canucks may simply want to avoid any concerns about such conflicts of interest.
They also may have determined that, in this draft with a bit of uncertainty in the top handful of spots, they simply like a few other guys more.
Either way, Malhotra will be chosen quite early. He’ll have a choice to make after that, because he’s committed to play college hockey at Boston University.
Eventually, Malhotra should be a good NHL player. At the moment, it seems less likely that it’ll be for his dad.
