What Caleb Malhotra said about potentially joining the Vancouver Canucks
The lottery balls have fallen, and the Vancouver Canucks fate has been determined.
And, based on a multitude of mock drafts that have been released in the aftermath, there seems to be a consensus about who the Canucks will select at third overall.
Whether it was TSN’s Craig Button, Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino, Elite Prospects’ Cam Robinson, or The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, all of them had the Canucks selecting Caleb Malhotra when they stepped up to the podium to announce the No. 3 overall selection.
Interestingly enough, all four of those mocks had Ivar Stenberg still available to the Canucks. In each instance, the mocks had Vancouver passing on Stenberg for Malhotra.
Whether that transpires or not, Malhotra is a viable option for the Canucks at No. 3 overall. And, the club has clearly shown interest in the talented young centre.
So, what does Malhotra think about potentially getting drafted by the Canucks?
“Yeah, obviously I’ve thought about it,” Malhotra said when speaking to TSN’s Mark Masters. “It would be really cool. Growing up in Vancouver, going back home would be really cool.”
“That’s the team I’ve cheered for most of my life,” he said. “Obviously, my dad being currently a part of that organization, it would be interesting…it’s a weird feeling, it’s pretty cool though.”
“But I mean, there’s a long ways to go, so we’ll see what happens on draft night.”
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Of course, there’s a twist with Malhotra potentially joining the Canucks, considering his dad is head coach of Vancouver’s AHL affiliate in Abbotsford.
Not only that, but Manny would be a prime candidate to take over Adam Foote as head coach of the Canucks, if Vancouver’s new GM decides to make a change.
Could the two co-exist, with Caleb being a vital building block for a Canucks rebuild, while his dad is the head coach?
“I don’t know, to be honest with you,” Caleb said. “I haven’t had him coach me since I was 12 years old.”
“Taking orders from your dad as a coach is different from taking orders from a coach. Obviously, it’d be fine, I’d be able to adjust, but it would be different.”
“I don’t know if it’s really happened before where a son is getting coached by their father. If that does happen, it would be pretty cool, pretty weird though.”
Could Manny coach the Vancouver Canucks with his son on the team? (@Canucks/X)
While a father has coached their son behind an NHL bench before, it is a unique scenario.
The last father to coach his son on an NHL team was Dave Lowry, who coached his son, Adam Lowry, while he stepped in as interim head coach of the Winnipeg Jets.
Based on Dave’s comments, there are some clear complications to making it work.
Dave coached Adam for less than one season before Winnipeg hired Rick Bowness as head coach back in 2022.
One of Lowry’s biggest struggles was admitting he had to be a coach before a father.
If it does transpire for the Canucks, the father/son duo might have to put their good-natured ribbing aside.
Caleb joked in his chat with Masters that there has been some friendly banter between father and son about who will get picked higher in the draft. Manny was selected seventh overall by the New York Rangers back in 1998.
“He’s rooting for me to go higher, but I’m still gonna rub it in if I do,” Caleb said.
The Toronto native was also asked what separates him from his dad as a player.
“My offence is a bit higher than his, and I let him know that too. My offence is what separates me.”
What does Manny say in response to that?
“He doesn’t really have a comeback,” Caleb said. “That’s my finishing blow every time. ”
Malhotra has been one of the draft’s biggest risers throughout the year. After being projected as a late-first-round pick back in October, there’s now a strong chance that Malhotra goes in the top five. He cemented that likelihood with a postseason where he had 13 goals and 26 points in 25 games.
“I think I made my mark, made a name for myself,” he said. “I’ve still got a ways to go, but I think I did exactly what I wanted. I got better as the season went on, and it showed in my postseason as well.”