2026 NHL Draft

[Tciso]

My picks are Carels, then Verhoff. Malholtra seems off to me. Too much feel good story. If you take away his last name, and Manny's connection to the Nucks, I see him ranked around 8 or 9th. Maybe he is 3OA good, and my bias again the media's bias is off the mark.

[UWSaint]

My picks are Carels, then Verhoff. Malholtra seems off to me. Too much feel good story. If you take away his last name, and Manny's connection to the Nucks, I see him ranked around 8 or 9th. Maybe he is 3OA good, and my bias again the media's bias is off the mark.

With the forever caveat of I have not special knowledge about this class of prospects, I have the following concerns about Malhotra: (1) there is a bias among hockey people in favor of hockey people -- it infects analysts and scouts. It is a smaller community than you think and they love their own -- this isn't just a nepo issue in the Canucks, it affects all the feedback we get on the player; (2) there is a bias towards size -- I think this bias has a better foundation than the nepo bias -- I prefer size to tiny -- but think it is *slightly* overvalued as compared to how other physical and skill attributes are valued and their overall contribution to a good NHL player.

I am NOT worried that Malhotra is a late bloomer; while there is some risk with guys that climb late, the fact is that he was on the radar by this Christmas as a solid first rounder -- this isn't just a good month or two of hockey. He was vastly outplaying Luchanko (13th OA in 2024) and probably ended the season playing as well as O'Brien (8th OA in 2025, and an 8th OA no one in Seattle is regretting). Guys who have taken this route -- didn't truly get on the radar until the 17yo season, established themselves as someone to watch closely by Christmas, and continued to keep getting better are quite often home runs as they continue on the trajectory of better (IIRC, this describes Heiskanaan). The fact is, kids develop differently, and 16 year old seasons are just a flash on the development curve and way way way less relevant than 17 yo season. DuPont's a shoe in at #1 next year, right? If he struggles in the NCAA like Verhoff did, there will be many questions. Heck, McKenna didn't even really struggle, he just didn't set the place on fire and it created doubts that wouldn't have existed a year ago.

I contrast Malhotra to Bjorck. He doesn't have size (a demerit to me, but many give him a bigger demerit than I do for it), but he's got off the charts hockey sense (which is one of the most underappreciated or tough to quantify hockey skills). He also isn't a blazer wizard with the skating (though I don't think its a concern; I think that skating is the one skill that scouts see as having to good chance to offset the downside of being smaller). Yet he's indefatigable, which strikes me (especially when combined with intelligence and good skating) as doing at least as much to be in the play as ++ skating alone. Skills are tools to be effective at hockey; you don't have to have them all; you have to have the right combination.

I think there's a pretty decent chance Bjorck ends up as the best center in draft. I also think there's a pretty decent chance Malhotra is the best center, and a within-the-realm-of-possibility chance that he ends up being the MVP of the draft -- the kind of two way pivot you win championships with. Alexsander Barkov. Ryan O'Reilly. Patrice Bergeron. That mold. If the Canucks take Caleb @3, it might not be the best pick, but it won't be a bad pick ex ante. There's real potential, I just hope that the irrational biases aren't playing too big of a role as to why.

[Meds]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/ca ... g-his-son/

Rebranding on the horizon…..

The Bountiful Bay Investment Group.

[Aaronp18]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/ca ... g-his-son/

Rebranding on the horizon…..

The Bountiful Bay Investment Group.

I'm ok drafting two-eyed Malhotra if we somehow attain another top 10 pick and grab one of the highly touted defenseman as well, more specifically Verhoeff.

[Madcombinepilot]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/ca ... g-his-son/

Rebranding on the horizon…..

The Bountiful Bay Investment Group.

I'm ok drafting two-eyed Malhotra if we somehow attain another top 10 pick and grab one of the highly touted defenseman as well, more specifically Verhoeff.

Malhotra has the potential to be the next Joulevi

[Aaronp18]

Interweb rumours have the Canucks dining with McKenna, Reid, Malhotra, and Stenberg at the combine.

[Topper]

Their agents must be buying

[donlever]

Sedins.

Same deal as their donations to Children's Hospital.

[Cousin Strawberry]

I'm starting to wonder if Sundin and Jug Brackett are going to take Stenberg at 1. The momentum is now working in favour of the Swede from everything I've heard.

If they do, do the sharts reconsider their options on taking a defender? Are there any scenarios where McK falls into the lap of canuckland? Do the Canucks even want McKenna if he's there since there seems to be so much smoke around taking Malhotra kid?

[Carl Yagro]

If this alternate reality ever happens and McKenna does indeed fall to us at #3... and TNFGs STILL take Manny's nepo kid for whatever the fuck reasons... this will just reconfirm that this effin' franchise is not at all serious.

I would lose all respect for Hank/Dank and what little I had for RJ and One-Eye.

I get the 2011 reunion party, dragging all the guys back and giving them cushy jobs... but it has to be about running the business first, not reminiscing about old times and giving roster spots to godchildren.

[donlever]

I'm starting to wonder if Sundin and Jug Brackett are going to take Stenberg at 1. The momentum is now working in favour of the Swede from everything I've heard.

If they do, do the sharts reconsider their options on taking a defender? Are there any scenarios where McK falls into the lap of canuckland? Do the Canucks even want McKenna if he's there since there seems to be so much smoke around taking Malhotra kid?

Starting to wonder eh?

Sundin pushing for Stenberg eh?

What a novel concept.....

[Cousin Strawberry]

Heard the Caleb comparables top out at a Barkov type of 1C. Haven't seen the kid but that would be quite something

[Hockey Widow]

Rumours also McKenna only agreed to dine with Vancouver and has been quietly letting people know he wants to be drafted by Vancouver. But I think that is media BS. Perhaps the leaves know they will take and no need to wine and dine him and perhaps SJS already know they are taking a D. Or perhaps he really will fall to 3.

Glad Canucks are looking at all four of McKenna, Stenberg, Reid and Malhotra. I’d like Caled as I think he will be a good one but I’m not sure you pass up a RD, especially if you want to move Hronek, whether this year or in 3 years.

Also hearing McTavish a possible to Canucks and he will come cheaper this year than what the cost would have been last year. I don’t know their cap situation but I hear they have regret and want to move his contract. Raty and a 2nd? They get an inexpensive 4th Line centre that is 50% plus in the dot.

[UWSaint]

Rumours also McKenna only agreed to dine with Vancouver and has been quietly letting people know he wants to be drafted by Vancouver. But I think that is media BS.

If a player wants to be drafted by the Canucks over the leaves and Sharks, I question their fitness…. The Sharks because they’ve got such a bright future. Toronto? There are reasons to not want to go to Toronto, to be sure, but if you can’t hack Toronto, you can’t hack the NHL. See Mitch Marner, whatever happened to him, anyway.

Joking aside, I really wouldn’t read much into this. Dinner at a combine? I mean, if you were really doing your diligence, you’d visit the family. Which Toronto did, no?

I guess I could read this into that: there is a nonzero chance McKenna drops to 3. But I don’t think that’s news to anyone. If you have a 5% chance of this scenario, you’re going to want to do a bit of diligence on the person beyond the interview. A dinner isn’t much more, but it is more.

Also, not sure the “quietly telling friends” gossip passes the bull shit test, at least in any way that’s meaningful. The way guys go about getting to a team they want to be drafted by is being pretty direct to the clubs they don’t want to go to that they have no intention of signing with them. Could McKenna have said to a friend “I’d love to go to Vancouver.” Sure, just like Celebrini or Bedard might have said as much since I think both were Canuck fans as kids. But that’s all it is, “wouldn’t it be super cool to play in this sweater?” Means fuck all; presumably every kid who has spent every day dreaming of being an NHLer had a favorite team and dreamed of playing for them.

[Picker of Cherries]

Publicly, the Sharks only took out Verhoeff and Carels for dinner, neither went out with the Canucks.
Looks like they are focused of Dmen.
If the Canuck dinner invites are generally thought to be the top four (McKenna, Reid, Stenberg, Malhotra), it also looks like the Sharks could trade down to get one.
There might be big moves on draft day.
Could be an interesting draft.