The elder Malhotra had been coach of Abbotsford, the Canucks’ American Hockey League affiliate, for the past two seasons. He went 44-24-2-2 last season and guided the team to its first Calder Cup championship. The 46-year-old was selected No. 7 by the Rangers in the 1998 NHL Draft and played for seven teams over 16 NHL seasons, scoring 295 points (116 goals, 179 assists) in 991 career games.
“I’m just so proud of my dad,” Caleb said. “Since he started coaching, this is what he’s always wanted to do, and I think he’s built for it. He’s so composed and hockey smart, and he’s also good with people, which is a big thing.
“He understands what the players need because he was one of them. He knows how to get to the guys and what everybody needs. I think he’s the right guy, especially for Vancouver.”
Caleb said his father still helps him plenty.
“I kind of separate dad and coach and I talk to dad, but I’ll talk to coach a lot about different things in my game, whether it’s about the team or just specific things in my game,” he said. “I call both my parents before every game and usually talk to dad more about the hockey side and what he thinks I need in the game, whether it’s moving your feet, staying on the defensive side of pucks, making sure you’re not cheating. We talk about the penalty kill and face-offs a lot.”
The lessons have done wonders for Caleb, who finished second among all Ontario Hockey League rookies in goals (29), assists (55) and points (84) in 67 regular-season games. He also led all first-year players in points (26; 13 goals, 13 assists) in 15 OHL playoff matches.
“If you told me he’d be a coach in the NHL, I’d just be pumped for him,” Caleb, who is committed to Boston University in 2026-27, said. “That’s all I could feel for him right now, and that’s all I’m going to still feel.
“We have kind of been climbing the ladder (together). He’s been an assistant coach and then a head coach in the AHL, and has just been working his way up. I’ve kind of been doing the same, working my way from minor hockey to Tier 2 junior to the OHL and, now, hopefully, to get drafted. It’s been really cool to kind of go on that journey with him. Even though it’s different paths, it’s kind of the same situation.”
The 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 26-27 at KeyBank Center. The first round will be held June 26 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, Sportsnet, TVA Sports) with rounds 2-7 following on June 27 (11 a.m. ET; NHL Network, ESPN+, Sportsnet).
“My floor is just as a really responsible center,” he said. “When (I’m) at my best, I think I’m an elite centerman that can score and literally do everything … I try to play like (Florida Panthers forward) Aleksander Barkov and, obviously, he’s a winner.”
