The Vancouver Canucks selected Caleb Malhotra with the third overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on June 26 in Buffalo, New York, creating a nearly unprecedented father-son coach/player scenario with head coach Manny Malhotra.
Uncharted Waters for Canucks
The pick puts the Canucks into uncharted NHL territory. While there have been a handful of cases over the past century where players had their fathers as coaches, none of those players were stars or budding stars. The longest father-son stint was Lynn Patrick skating for Lester Patrick in 247 games during the 1930s.
GM Ryan Johnson said the decisions to draft Caleb and hire Manny as coach were made independently. “As an organization, we didn’t draft Manny’s kid, we drafted Caleb Malhotra,” Johnson explained. “I’ve said all along, I’ve said that to both player and coach-slash-dad, that these were two separate decisions, and felt with no hesitation of walking up there and making that pick.”
Avoiding the Minefield
At every other level, the advice is “don’t coach your kid” to avoid perceptions of favouritism or excessive criticism. For the youngster, there’s the risk of being tagged with “oh their dad is the coach.” Johnson, however, is not worried about these dynamics.
Caleb Malhotra addressed the situation directly. “I’m very professional when I’m at the rink, so I won’t have any trouble being able to make him my coach at the rink, and have him be my dad away from the rink,” he said.
Coach-Dad Philosophy
Manny Malhotra, who previously coached Caleb when he was 12, emphasized the separation of roles. “What this comes down to ultimately is player and coach,” Manny said. “Now I say it, and I know people will kind of roll their eyes and say, you just can’t ‘say it,’ it won’t be that way. But when we get to the arena, (Caleb) knows he’s treated as I would any other player.”
He added that the dynamic has worked for them before. “When we leave the arena, you know, there’s a very linear line that we’re not talking shop, I’m not coaching anymore, it’s just the dad conversations that take place. We understand the dynamic of it, and perhaps the esthetics, of how people will perceive the situation, but when it comes to the hockey, it’s all about getting better.”
Cornerstone of Rebuild
The Canucks hope Caleb will be a much bigger star than Lynn Patrick ever was, looking to him as a long-term cornerstone of their rebuild. The organization believes both decisions—drafting Caleb and hiring Manny—are independently defensible.
Only time will tell if the unprecedented father-son coach/player arrangement succeeds. As Manny said, “So here we go. We’ll just have to see.”
