The Vancouver Canucks have begun laying the foundation for what’s expected to be a multi-year rebuild.
The club added nine prospects at the NHL draft this weekend, including No. 3 pick Caleb Malhotra — son of head coach and former Canuck Manny Malhotra.
It’s an enticing storyline for fans disappointed after the club slid to third place in the draft lottery despite finishing the 2025-26 season in last place.
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Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson said Friday that the family connection played no role in the choice, and the plan was always to pick Caleb if top prospects Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg were selected first and second, as expected.
“His progression in the last two years … playing in Chilliwack, playing against older, more mature men and going into the OHL (Ontario Hockey League), and the progression from day one to where he is now, watching that, you know the ceiling is extremely high,” Johnson said.
“Good player, great human being, leadership qualities, it’s that simple.”
The 18-year-old centre posted 29 goals and 84 points over 67 games with the Brantford Bulldogs last season, and is expected to spend next season playing for Boston University.
For Caleb, whose mother is from B.C. and who spent his childhood years playing shinny in the Canucks locker room, the result is a dream come true.
Despite the emotions, he said Saturday that suiting up for his dad wouldn’t affect his play.
“I’m a very coachable guy and I’m very professional when I’m at the rink,” he said.
“So, I won’t have any trouble being able to make him my coach when I’m at the rink and then have him be my dad away from the rink.”
Fans frustrated as Vancouver Canucks trade captain Quinn Hughes to Minnesota Wild
The Canucks are in full rebuild mode, after dealing captain Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild in a blockbuster trade last December.
The Canucks acquired Minnesota’s first round pick in the deal, and used it to select elite Czech left winger Adam Novotny at 24th overall.
The 18-year-old won a silver medal with Czechia in the 2026 World Juniors, and posted 34 goals and 65 points in 58 games last year with the OHL Peterborough Petes.
Johnson said picking Novotny was about “drafting winners.”
“The way he plays, his character, his interview, was very well received, he exudes winner, compete, along with obviously a skill set,” he said.
“The amount of goals he’s scored, his size, he’s already very physically mature, the way he skates, again, it was a player that we felt at 24 we were extremely lucky to get.”
Canucks bolster prospect pool at the much anticipated 2026 NHL draft
Deeper into the club’s draft, one key theme emerged: size.
Most of the picks topped 200 pounds, and all of them stand over six feet tall, including 6-7 centre Brooks Rogowski, picked 33rd overall in round two and 6-5 Swedish defender Samuel Eriksson, picked 184th overall in round six.
“We wanted to get bigger and we wanted to get faster and we wanted to get harder,” said Todd Harvey, the Canucks director of amateur scouting.
“These guys have skill, and I think they are still developing, but definitely we won’t get pushed around.”
Along with Rogowski in round two, the Canucks picked forward Niklas Aaram-Olsen at 41st.
Rogowski put up 15 goals and 42 points in 46 games with the OHL Oshawa Generals last season, while Aaram-Olsen scored 20 goals and 40 points Orebro HK Jr. and Orebro HK in Sweden.
Round three saw the Canucks pick their only goalie prospect, Dmitri Ivchenko at 78th overall. The 17-year-old posted a record of 11-5-1 and a .922 save percentage for Omskie Yastreby in the Russian junior MHL.
The Canucks added Belarusian forward Yaroslav Bryzgalov of the WHL Medicine Hat Tigers at 97th, forward Connor Davis of the USHL Cedar Rapids RoughRiders at 129th, and Slovakian forward Lucian Bernat 176th.
