Caleb Malhotra 'literally dreamed about' getting drafted by Canucks

BUFFALO -- They sat on the couch together, Caleb, Manny and Joann Malhotra, still and staring at the screen, waiting for actress Cobie Smulders to announce the Vancouver Canucks' selection with the No. 3 pick in the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft.

There were nerves and tension. Is it going to happen? Is it really going to happen?

"This is something I literally dreamed about," Caleb later said.

They were all in the dark. They didn't know what the Canucks were going to do.

Even Manny, now Vancouver's coach, named to the position on June 1, did not want to know what the team was going to do with the No. 3 pick because to him this was not about the team or the player he's getting; it was about his son and a momentous occasion for the family.

"It's for him, it's all about him," Manny told NHL.com. "And there's so many variables that go into draft day for the teams and who they're picking and who is available. I didn't want to get into that. I just wanted to enjoy this as dad. I think that's part of the excitement, you can relate it to Christmas morning, you want the surprise, you want the enjoyment of not knowing what's going on."

Well, the Canucks did pick Caleb Malhotra, the 18-year-old center from Brantford of the Ontario Hockey League who was second among all rookies in the league in goals (29), assists (55) and points (84) this season, who has drawn comparisons to Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils for his two-way game and leadership qualities.

They picked the player who was a young boy when his dad was playing for the Canucks from 2010-13, one of the brightest portions of his NHL playing career that spanned 17 years and included 991 games played.

They picked the player who once asked his mom, Joann, to sign him up to play for the Canucks, adorably thinking that's how it works because he wanted to play with dad and the big boys.

"I thought it was a simple sign me up for the Canucks, why not?" Caleb said.

Said Manny: "Just a few years ago he was a little kid just getting on skates, asking his mom to sign him up for the Canucks to the point where he's at his own NHL draft being drafted third overall, which is a massive accomplishment in it of itself. It's one of those where did it all go moments? Where did this time go? It's a special moment, but you don't see these kinds of things coming."

That's why their embrace as father and son, not coach and player, in the celebratory moments right after the pick was announced meant so much to Caleb.

"We were just happy," Caleb said. "This is the best feeling in the world. I've never felt a feeling like this. And that embrace was so comforting. I'm so glad he's here with me as dad. I'm so grateful for him on this journey. He's given me so much help as a hockey player. He's helped me grow. If it weren't for him I wouldn't be in this conversation, I wouldn't be in this position. I'm so thankful for him and I'm ready to play for him."

When that happens remains to be seen. Caleb is currently planning to play at Boston University next season, but of course that is tentative at this point because there could be a chance that he makes the jump right to the NHL.

Regardless of the when, dad certainly is expected to be his first NHL coach, and with that comes its own set of circumstances that both Caleb and Manny say they are ready for and, in a way, have been preparing for over the past few years not ever thinking it would or could happen.

"Usually when I'm on the ice with him he's coach and he'll treat me like any other player," Caleb said. "I've had that experience and that ability to just have him be coach, take his advice and take his instruction. I think I've gotten quite good at it. Waking up early in the morning going to the rink and doing one-on-one skates with him, working on face-offs, skating, shooting, whatever it may be, I think I've learned to deal with him as coach a lot better than I did as a kid. I'm going to have to learn now how to deal with him as my head coach. I'm going to be able to be very professional and treat him like I would any other coach."

All of that speaks to Caleb's growth and maturity, Manny said.

"When he was younger, and he admits it, you don't want to hear from your dad," Manny said. "Hockey player or not, whatever, you don't listen to your dad, period. So, we went through that phase and as he got older and he started to realize, 'OK, he's not just dad, he does this professionally.' Then my opinions started to carry some weight. Now he understands there is some input there, there is some value in the information he has, and now he wants the coaching information. So, yeah, it's a very easy transition because he knows it's now business, you listen to your coach, you take what you will, you learn from the coach. He sees that side of it now."

To the point that Caleb has interrupted his dad when he sees him cutting video.

"I purposely try not to bring work home, and any time he has seen me on a computer cutting film he'll come ask, 'What do you see here? Why are you marking that?'" Manny said. "He wants information."

And he wants to win in Vancouver. He's not new to the city. He grew up there and around the 2010-11 team that Manny played on, the team that won the Presidents' Trophy and went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Boston Bruins.

Manny has talked to him about why that team was so successful and what it takes to get there. Caleb knows about the passion and pressures in the Vancouver market.

"I want to be able to win with this organization," Caleb said. "Growing up and hearing about how they never won the Cup and how bad everybody in Vancouver wants to win, how passionate everybody is about it, how serious the city takes it, I want to bring that excitement and energy back to the city and be able to win with the Canucks."

There is a long way to go before that can happen. Manny has to prove himself as an NHL coach. Caleb has to prove himself as an NHL player. And that's only part of it.

But that's all for down the road. For now, it's about Caleb and his moment, about mom and dad soaking it up with their oldest child, about a proud family.

It's about a dream come true.

"Now I actually get to be signed up for the Canucks," Caleb said. "I'm so excited to get going."