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Ryan Johnson pleased with work Canucks did on first night of NHL Draft
Vancouver Canucks Ryan Johnson
Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Jun 27, 2026, 01:30 EDTUpdated: Jun 27, 2026, 01:27 EDT
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Optimism abounds every year at the end of the first day of the National Hockey League draft. Every team feels like it got the player or players it wanted, and on Friday night, the Vancouver Canucks were no exception. First year general manager Ryan Johnson couldn’t contain his excitement after selecting Caleb Malhotra with the third overall pick and then nabbing Peterborough winger Adam Novotny with the 24th selection.
When he met the media moments after the first round concluded, Johnson praised the work of the Canucks scouting staff for the decisions that led to adding a pair of forwards to the prospect pool.
“Really good,” Johnson said when asked to assess the first night of the draft. “A lot of work went into this. You never know how it’s going to fall. You have to be prepared for so many different scenarios. The way it played out, picking three and 24, we looked at a lot of different options, but we got two very good hockey players, high compete, size, can skate and fit to exactly what we wanted to accomplish when we walked in here today.”
On Malhotra, Johnson said the upside was simply too good to pass up.
“He brings a bit of everything,” he explained. “Obviously his progression in the last two years playing in Chilliwack (BCHL) and then playing against older, mature men going into the OHL and the progression from Day 1 to where he is now you know the ceiling is extremely high. He still has a ways to grow and evolve as a player. Good player, great human being, leadership qualities, yeah, it’s that simple.”
As he had been in the weeks leading up to the draft, Johnson was again pressed on the notion of using the team’s top pick on the son of the club’s new head coach. But he downplayed any potential difficulties or conflicts and simply looked at the body of work of the player they selected and felt that Caleb Malhotra was what the Canucks needed regardless of his obvious bloodlines.
“Those are two separate decisions as far as hiring a head coach and picking a hockey player at number three,” Johnson said. “As an organization, we didn’t draft Manny’s kid, we drafted Caleb Malhotra and I think you can tell how excited I am to have the opportunity to do that. I felt no hesitation in walking up there and making that pick.”
In Novotny, the Canucks get a scoring winger with pro ready size who comes from a Peterborough program that has been producing NHL’ers for years. A Czech native, Novotny scored 34 goals as an 18-year-old rookie in the Ontario Hockey League. He has twice represented his homeland at the World Juniors. On top of his physical attributes and his goal-scoring prowess, Novotny possesses intangibles the Canucks found too good to pass up.
“Part of our discussion into late last night was drafting winners and he was a guy we targeted because of the way he plays,” Johnson said. “His character. His interview was very well received. He exudes winner, compete along with his skill set and the amount of goals he scored, his size, he’s already very physically mature, the way he skates. It was a player that we felt at 24 we were extremely lucky to get. He’s got pro habits at a young age and we’re excited to watch him grow.”
Johnson made it clear that Novotny will return to Peterborough for at least one more season of junior.
With first round picks changing hands at a dizzying rate all week and again as the draft unfolded on Friday night, the Canucks explored some opportunities to add to their draft capital. It doesn’t sound like they were ever in the market to move off the third overall selection, but Johnson says he looked at a few options to add an additional pick later in the first round. 
“You kind of have buckets of players and you obviously try to get as many players as you can in the higher buckets,” he explained. “We looked at some different options to either get up or to get another pick in and around 24 to be able to get a couple of players in that bucket. But things have to go your way. Other teams are looking at the board watching their players drop off. But where we ended up – three and 24 and the players we got – we’ll walk out of here tonight feeling really good about what we have.”
The Canucks will make the first selection of the second round – 33rd overall – early Saturday morning. They will also be back on the clock for the 41st pick later in the first round.
Watch the scrum with Johnson below!
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