The Vancouver Canucks added another blue chip talent to their roster on Friday night when they selected Brantford Bulldogs (OHL) center Caleb Malhotra with the third overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Malhotra’s selection comes with some controversy as he is the son of Manny Malhotra, who was hired as the Canucks head coach on June 2. But while some fans will be quick to label this as a nepotism pick or a reach, Malhotra brings a lot of the things Vancouver needs and is a sign that the Canucks did not overthink the selection.
Caleb Malhotra’s bloodlines shouldn’t shadow Canucks’ top selection in NHL Draft
Malhotra just finished his first season in the OHL and put up big numbers with 29 goals and 84 points in 67 games. His wave of momentum carried him into the playoffs as he scored 13 times and recorded 13 assists in 15 postseason games.
With a strong two-way game, hockey instincts and a 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame, Malhotra can open up the offense and eventually work his way to the top of the lineup after he gets done with his collegiate commitment to Boston University.
Even if he doesn’t, Malhotra is a safe pick that should be able to find a role on an NHL roster and the type of selection you’re looking for at the top of the draft.
The only issue here is his bloodlines. With his father behind the bench, some wonder if there will be increased pressure on Caleb to perform and what kind of dynamic it could cause in the locker room. But while it’s hard to find a positive example of it working, there also hasn’t been many negative ones because it’s been such a rare occurrence.
According to Canucks Army’s Dainel Wagner, the last father to coach his son in the NHL was Rod Brind’Amour, who had his son Skyler playing for him late in the 2024-25 season. Dave Lowry coached his son Adam on an interim basis following Paul Maurice’s resignation from the Winnipeg Jets midway through the 2021-22 season but the last full-time coach to do it before that was Bill Dinneen coaching his son, Kevin, as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers from 1991 to 1993.
If Manny Malhotra had come into the new front office of general manager Ryan Johnson and co-presidents of hockey operation Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin and started banging the table for his son, that would be a problem. But The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler noted the Canucks’s interest in Caleb was “a season-long one” and Johnson gave assurance it wouldn’t be a problem.
“If it was going to be an issue [the job] was something he and I shouldn’t move forward with,” Johnson said via Steve Ewen of The Province. “...We have never discussed it. He knows the process that I’m going through. We talk daily but we have never discussed a list.”
If Malhotra were projected to go at the back end of the first-round, there would be a debate. Even with the young center ranking seventh on Corey Pronman’s draft rankings, he still plays a position where teams are falling over each other to acquire players such as Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings and Mason McTavish of the Anaheim Ducks. Even Elias Pettersson could be on his way out the door this summer, which reinforces the need to stockpile talent down the middle.
Add it together and the Canucks likely have a contributor with the third overall pick and a cornerstone to build around as they continue to put things together.
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