NHL insider doesn't think Vancouver Canucks will draft Malholtra's son
Will the Vancouver Canucks opt for Caleb Malhotra with the third-overall pick in this year’s draft?
That is a question that the team will need to answer in the coming week. Malhotra is primed to be one of the top players available at the top of the draft this year, with the Brantford Bulldogs centreman consistently ranked as a top-10 player in his class.
The connection between Vancouver and Malhotra is obvious, as his dad, Manny, was just named the new head coach of the Canucks. There is also a need for another high-end forward within Vancouver’s prospect cupboards.
For weeks, debate has raged on about who the Canucks should select at third overall, and Malhotra was a name that has kept coming up time and time again.
It feels like a good fit for the Canucks, but NHL insider David Pagnotta is pushing back against that narrative.
“I’m not expecting the Vancouver Canucks to select Caleb Malhotra with the third-overall selection, if he’s available,” Pagnotta wrote on Sunday.
It’s not like the Canucks haven’t thought about taking the head coach’s son. Vancouver management interviewed Malhotra at this year’s draft combine and even asked about playing for his dad.
There has been some interest from the Canucks, but as the draft approaches, it appears that their thinking may be shifting elsewhere. But who could they look to draft at the top of the draft?
It’s likely that top prospect Gavin McKenna is off the board before Canucks GM Ryan Johnson heads up to the podium to select, but it gets interesting from there. Ivar Stenberg is widely seen as the second-best prospect in this year’s draft, but there is some doubt about whether or not the San Jose Sharks will take him or go with defenceman Keaton Verhoeff.
At least one of those players should be available at third-overall, and that could be where the Canucks are looking.
There are also other intriguing prospects, such as defencemen Chase Reid and Carson Carels, as well as forward Viggo Björck, who are likely to still be on the board at third-overall.
Nobody knows exactly where the Canucks will go with the third-overall pick, but if Malhotra is now off their radar, it narrows things down ever so slightly.