PENTICTON — Manny Malhotra has been waiting for this moment a long time.
“It’s definitely something that felt really good this morning, almost like a Christmas morning feeling,” the Vancouver Canucks’ head coach said Thursday as his team opened training camp in Penticton, B.C.
The morning session marked the first time Malhotra officially hit the ice as an NHL head coach.
“Going through the summer and going through all the discussions and watching video and doing meetings and watching the same video over and over, it was nice just to get to the actual hockey part of it,” he said. “I was excited coming to the rink this morning, knowing that it was time to actually put on the skates and do what we love to do.”
The 46-year-old former NHL forward was named the 23rd head coach in franchise history, part of a wave of change that washed over the Canucks after Vancouver finished last season at the bottom of the league standings with a 25-49-8 record.
He replaced Adam Foote, who was fired on May 19 after serving a single season as bench boss.
Malhotra is no stranger to NHL training camps.
After playing 16 seasons in the league, the native of Mississauga, Ont., served as a development coach and an assistant coach for the NHL’s Canucks, then spent four seasons as an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs before taking on head coaching duties with the Abbotsford Canucks in the American Hockey League.
“I think guys are excited to learn from him,” said Canucks forward Brendan Gallagher. ”He played in this league a long time, he’s coached now, he understands the game, he’s incredibly intelligent. We’re excited to have him as our leader.”
Malhotra’s first on-ice sessions featured defensive drills, big hits and a broken pane of glass. Defenceman Jamie Oleksiak left the ice with cut above his lip thanks to a battle.
After each of the two sessions, the entire coaching staff joined the players for a bag skate.
Defenceman Luke Schenn has been to more than a dozen NHL training camps. He couldn’t recall another time that coaches had jumped on the line to take part in the test alongside players.
“They caught us at a vulnerable time, right after a battle drill, and all of a sudden they turn the jets on, and we looked like the slow ones out there,” he said.
Participating in the gruelling endurance test is about showing that the coaches aren’t asking players to do things they’re not willing to do themselves, Malhotra said.
“Obviously, I time it so that I know that they’re a little bit more tired, so I can be a part of it,” he said with a grin.
“Our mentality as a coaching staff is that it’s we’re all in this together. It’s not you guys and us, you guys do the work, and we’ll tell you what to do. It’s we’re a part of doing the work and building something the way we want it done.”
The pace and intensity of Thursday’s sessions resonated with players.
“I think the tempo is fast on the ice, which is nice,” Oleksiak said. ”You’re not spending a lot of time on the board. You’re just getting up and down the sheet and getting ready for the next drill.
“It’s incumbent on us to know what’s going on. But I think it’s definitely an efficient way to practice.”
Malhotra was a vocal presence throughout, shouting out instructions loud enough for the sprinkling of fans and assembled media to hear from the stands.
“He was really on it today,” said winger Jake DeBrusk. “Obviously, it was a loud practice, he wanted guys to be talking out there and engaged. And I was really impressed with how he handled it. We got our work in today, and it was good to see.”
It’s exactly the same coaching style Malhotra deployed at Vancouver’s development camp last season, said Braeden Cootes.
“The same mindset, the same kind of drills, the same intensity,” said the 19-year-old centre.
“He’s just hardworking, gritty … It’s nothing too complicated. It’s just hard hockey, intense. He just focuses a lot on the compete aspect and the work ethic stuff. So that’s kind of always the coaches that I’ve had success with.”
Training camps across the league have been shortened this season, and each team will play just four pre-season contests.
With less time than ever to prepare for meaningful games, it’s important to have a coach who’s clear about what he needs from his team, Gallagher said.
“He knows what he wants,” he said. “There’s no grey areas, and as a player, that’s all you can ask for. So the expectations are in place, and now it’s on us to go and execute that.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2026.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
