Canucks management had their eyes on Malhotra and he didn't disappoint
Even though many top prospects have concluded their hockey seasons, that hasn’t stopped the Vancouver Canucks from scouting.
On Friday, Canucks management was in attendance to watch Caleb Malhotra and the Brantford Bulldogs in their second-round series against the North Bay Battalion.
According to CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, general manager Patrik Allvin, assistant general manager Ryan Johnson, and Director of Amateur Scouting Todd Harvey were all in attendance, along with team OHL scout Phil Golding.
And wouldn’t you know, Malhotra didn’t disappoint. But that shouldn’t be a surprise.
The 17-year-old centre scored the game’s opening goal in the dying seconds of the first period. He forced a turnover by Battalion defenceman Bronson Rider and used his size to get to the net before shoveling a backhand goal home.
Just in time â° #BFD https://t.co/xAAMbEYdBd pic.twitter.com/bPw7lmUcG7
— Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) April 10, 2026
Just another day at the office for Malhotra.
Honestly, this might have been a quiet night for the impressive prospect. He only scored once, while finishing 4/10 on face-offs. Yes, that constitutes a so-so showing in the playoffs for Malhotra.
Through six postseason games for Brantford, Malhotra has eight goals and 13 points. Across the entire CHL playoffs, he’s first in goals, power play goals, and he’s third in points, trailing only 2024 first-round pick Cole Beaudoin and 2025 second-rounder Jacob Battaglia.
Clearly, the Canucks were intrigued enough to check it out themselves, with not just one of Allvin, Johnson, or Harvey in attendance, but all three of them together.
Malhotra has done nothing but boost his stock all season long and is now in the conversation for third overall, if the Canucks do inevitably drop in the draft lottery.
While most pundits have defencemen such as Keaton Verhoeff or Chase Reid as the third-best prospect, there are reportedly teams that view Malhotra as No. 3 in this class.
Sportsnet 650’s Satiar Shah reported Friday on Canucks Central that one NHL scout, who’s not associated with the Canucks, had Malhotra at third on his list.
“The Canucks are very much doing their due diligence on Caleb Malhotra,” Shah said.
Malhotra is authoring a postseason so far similar to that of Caleb Desnoyers, who was selected fourth overall by the Utah Mammoth in last year’s draft.
He’s certainly caught the attention of scouting staffs around the league, including the Canucks.
As much as the Brantford vs. North Bay series is about Malhotra for scouts, there are other draft-eligible players of note.
Brantford has one other player of note on the NHL’s Central Scouting list of North American players. That’s right-shot defenceman VladimĂr DraveckĂ˝, who’s ranked 58th overall on Elite Prospects’ Consolidated draft rankings.
North Bay has a higher quantity of draft-eligible players on their roster, including 6-foot-2, 210-pound centre Ryder Cali (53rd overall on Elite Prospects Consolidated Rankings), right-winger Parker Vaughn (141st overall on NHL Central Scouting), and potential late-round fliers Ryder Carey and Arseny Pronin.