The Vancouver Canucks have selected Brantford Bulldogs centre Caleb Malhotra with the third overall pick in the NHL Draft.
Malhotra, 18, scored 29 goals and finished with 84 points in his only season with the Bulldogs last year. He also tallied 13 goals and 26 points in 15 games in the OHL Playoffs, where the Bulldogs fell in seven games to the Barrie Colts in the Eastern Conference Championship.
Malhotra joins the Canucks to be united with his father, former NHLer Manny Malhotra, who was named the next head coach of the team earlier in June to replace Adam Foote.
This scenario was always a possibility as Caleb entered the draft as one of the top prospects and the Canucks owned a top pick after finishing a league-worst 25-49-8 this past season. But head coach Malhotra and Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson were both adamant that the team was going to select the best player available.
“In regards to the draft, we’re going through the process, and obviously decisions are still being made,” Manny Malhotra said at the pre-draft combine earlier in June. “We’ll make our decisions based on who the best player available is when we pick. There’s not going to be an outside influence changing who that might be.”
Malhotra will be relied upon to help jumpstart a rebuild for a Canucks team that bottomed out in 2026 after finishing atop the pacific Division as recently as 2024.
