Canucks select Caleb Malhotra No. 3 overall in 2026 NHL Draft

One of the top centers in the 2026 NHL Draft class is off the board. The Vancouver Canucks selected Caleb Malhotra, 18, with the third overall pick Friday night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

Malhotra is fresh off a dominant freshman season with the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs in which he amassed 29 goals and 84 points in 67 games, adding another 13 goals and 26 points across 15 playoff games, helping his team reach Round 3 of the playoffs.  His 13 playoff goals were the fourth-most ever by an OHL rookie. He is the son of Canucks head coach and longtime NHLer Manny Malhotra, who was also a first-round pick, taken seventh overall by the New York Rangers in 1998, and played 991 NHL games. Caleb shares some of his father’s traits, most notably the 6-foot-2 frame, two-way hockey sense, competitiveness and relentless motor. It’s possible Malhotra has greater offensive upside than his dad; Caleb has shown that so far in major junior. That said, as Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis suggests, scouts aren’t totally sure yet whether Malhotra will be a dynamic frontline center or more of a heart-and-soul play driver in a team’s middle six over the long term.

With only a year of major junior under his belt, and having just turned 18 on June 2, Malhotra will need at least another season of development before NHL readiness. Malhotra is a Boston University commit for 2026-27. He’ll join a loaded program that includes 2026 Draft class members Tynan Lawrence, Xavier Villeneuve and Brady Wassilyn, not to mention mega-prospect goaltender Mikhaeil Yegorov, part of the New Jersey Devils’ system.

That said: even if he won’t be an NHLer next fall, Malhotra’s team-friendly, two-way game will make him suitable to play up or down a lineup and will up his odds of going pro sooner rather than later.