Caleb Malhotra says playing for dad with Canucks would be 'pretty cool'

BUFFALO -- Picture for a moment stepping onto NHL ice and taking direction from a head coach who is also your father. For Brantford Bulldogs center Caleb Malhotra, it’s become a compelling possibility.

Malhotra, who is here doing interviews and gearing up for testing at the 2026 NHL Scouting Combine this week at KeyBank Center and LECOM HarborCenter in Buffalo, was ecstatic after getting the official word that Manny Malhotra was hired as coach of the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. 

Caleb Malhotra (6-foot-2, 182 pounds), No. 6 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, is regarded by many as the top center in this year's draft class. 

The Canucks, who have the No. 3 pick in the NHL Draft, could have an opportunity to choose Malhotra. The organization interviewed him on Monday afternoon.

"It went well. ... They did ask how (I felt) it would be playing for my dad," Caleb said with a grin. "I mean, it'd be pretty cool to play for him. I haven't played for him since I was like 12 years old in minor hockey in British Columbia on a spring hockey team. He was on the bench and that was the last time I remember him coaching me. 

"But it'd be interesting to play for him, for sure."

Only eight times in NHL history has there been at least one instance where a coach was directing his son on the bench with the same team. Lester Patrick coached forward Lynn Patrick with the New York Rangers for 247 games, the most of any father-son duo. 

"It was a part of the conversations that we had prior to the hiring process, and I fully understand the story there, and I understand the positives and negatives of it, but with so many things I've learned, it's a bit of a fool's errand to plan out things that quite haven't happened yet," Malhotra said at his introductory press conference on Thursday. "So, if that situation were to happen, we'll cross that bridge when we get there, but we've had a very clear understanding in my household that first and foremost I am Dad, who also happens to be a professional hockey coach. So when we are talking about hockey, there's a decision by my kids if they want to talk to Dad or coach, so we will continue to have that rule in my house, and it's served us well as a family."

And if Caleb isn't chosen by Vancouver?

"I wouldn't be disappointed," he said. "I was talking with (Vancouver general manager) Ryan Johnson and he said any decision they make, whether they choose me or choose another player, will have nothing to do with my dad being the coach. I'm fine with the fact they can have the ability to be professional and make a separate decision."

Said Johnson: “We're at the combine here, going through interviews. We'll have more meetings with our amateur staff that's done an outstanding job getting to know these players, and we'll make our decisions based off of who the best player available is when we pick. There’s not going to be an outside influence changing who that might be."

Still, there's no question the 18-year-old could be a foundational piece of the Canucks' rebuilding effort.

"Again, I don't want to go too far down that road," Manny said. "If it happens, I would treat him just as any other player, and I know people would say, 'Well, you can't because it's your son,' and I do understand the challenges there. The one thing going back to that rule of do you want to talk to Dad or do you want to talk to coach? When Caleb brings up hockey to me, he always wants to talk to coach. I've seen his growth over the last couple years, and what they've done in Brantford, and the evolution of his game. I think he would have the wherewithal and the ability to separate the two at the next level."

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."

NHL.com independent correspondent Kevin Woodley contributed to this report