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Canucks: Caleb Malhotra calls Adam Novotný ‘a steal’ and shares his goals for the season

Photo credit: © Tav Morisson-CanucksArmy

By Jacob Fraser

Sep 18, 2026, 13:20 EDT

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The Vancouver Canucks third overall pick, Caleb Malhotra, gave his fellow 2026 Canucks first-round pick glowing remarks in a recent interview with Marco D’Amico.

When asked about Adam Novotný, Malhotra said, “I couldn’t believe he was still up there…It was awesome. We got this absolute player.” he followed that by calling Novotný a steal.

Novotný was projected to go much earlier than when the Canucks were able to select him at 24th overall, with the pick they got from Minnesota in the Quinn Hughes trade.

From what we’ve seen so far at development camp, the prospects showcase, and one day of training camp, Novotný clearly has a lot of potential.

The future of this Canucks team is reliant on their two top prospects, Malhotra and Novotný. Malhotra’s words show that the two clearly respect and believe in each other. After playing against each other all of last season in the OHL, they got to know each other and were finally allowed to share the ice in Canucks uniforms at the team’s development camp earlier in July.

As for Malhotra’s goals heading into his freshman season at Boston University, he said: “I want to be able to prove myself as a player in college and have an impact on this team.”

It’s been a fairly steep incline when it comes to Malhotra’s development. Just two seasons ago, he was a 16-year-old on the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL, and now he is coming off a great season, becoming the third overall selection in the draft and heading to one of the top hockey programs in the NCAA.

He also talked about his goal of representing Canada at this year’s World Juniors. “The World Juniors is one of my goals, obviously,” he said. “I want to play in that tournament. I want to be able to bring Canada gold.”

Following an opportunity at the World Junior Summer Showcase, it seems that this goal is certainly on the table for Malhotra, and we may get to see him in Edmonton in December. Of course, unlikely, Novotny; Malhotra isn’t at Canucks main camp due to rules surrounding NCAA players’ ability to attend NHL training camps.