Inside Malhotra family tree: How Canucks paired son Caleb with head coach dad Manny on NHL Draft day
Inside Malhotra family tree: How Canucks paired son Caleb with head coach dad Manny on NHL Draft day originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Vancouver Canucks didn’t have to do too much background work on their first-round pick Friday night.
Many wondered whether the Canucks would create a family reunion by pairing top prospect Caleb Malhotra with his father and their new head coach, Manny Malhotra, and the dream was realized at No. 3 overall in the NHL Draft.
The younger Malhotra, a Boston University commit who just turned 18 on June 2, could one day be a fixture for the franchise now led partly by his dad.
Here’s a look at the Malhotra connection in Vancouver.
MORE:Track every pick in 2026 NHL Draft
Is Caleb Malhotra related to Manny Malhotra?
The Canucks’ newest addition is the son of new head coach Manny Malhotra.
Caleb went 3rd overall to the Canucks 🥹
What a moment for the Malhotra family 👏 pic.twitter.com/k9XGfokdW8
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 26, 2026
Manny was just hired as Vancouver’s head coach this spring, but the Malhotras have a longstanding connection with the franchise after Manny spent three seasons with the Canucks as a player from 2010-13. Manny was an assistant coach under Adam Foote this past season and received the promotion to his first NHL head coaching gig after the franchise cleaned out its front office and fired Foote.
Caleb was born 10 years after Manny debuted in the NHL and attended Canucks games as a young child:
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 26, 2026
Thirteen years after his dad last played for the Canucks, Caleb will soon be able to put on the uniform, too — with his dad manning the bench, if all goes according to plan.
Malhotra family tree
The father-son Malhotra duo aren’t the only standout athletes in the family, as Caleb Malhotra’s maternal uncle is Basketball Hall of Famer Steve Nash.
Nash is the brother of Malhotra’s mom, Joann, who played soccer herself at the University of Victoria in Canada. Nash — or Uncle Steve, to Caleb — watched the young hockey star develop into a legitimate NHL prospect and was in attendance at the draft on Friday night.
MVP level talent here … pic.twitter.com/nO1fZ3EyE6
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) June 26, 2026
Living up to Nash’s greatness might be nearly impossible for Caleb, but he will try to join his father as the second member of the family to put together a long NHL caeer.
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