It was a slow start to his NCAA career for Vancouver Canucks prospect and 2026 third overall pick Caleb Malhotra at Boston University. But after this weekend, the point production has started to follow.

Last week, the Boston University Terriers met the UConn Huskies for a two-game set on Thursday and Saturday night. The Huskies took game one in overtime, with Malhotra failing to find the scoresheet on the Terriers four goals. That marked Malhotra’s third consecutive game without a point.

Some scoreboard watchers began sounding the alarm bells that Malhotra was not producing through his first three weeks of October, especially when considering the level of competition Boston University has faced. The Terriers played two games against the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and two against the University of Vermont, both programs with a collective zero NHL-drafted talent, whereas BU’s roster had a whopping 18. Yet, Malhotra had just one empty-net goal to show for it.

What doesn’t always show up on the scoreboard is how a team does territorially. And while the Terriers weren’t necessarily running up the scoreboard against these lesser opponents, they were dominating territorially. That’s been the silver lining for the Terriers’ offence and an indication that it was only a matter of time before chances became production, and that’s what we saw happen for Malhotra on Saturday night.

JD Burke of EliteProspects chimed in with his viewing from Saturday night on social media, and Daily Faceoff Vancouver followed up on his viewings of the Canucks’ recent third overall pick:

“We’ve been waiting for Malhotra to look like a top prospect at Boston University through the first three weeks of the season, and he finally delivered this Saturday against UConn,” Burke told Daily Faceoff Vancouver. “This was as complete a performance as I’ve seen from anyone in college this season. He was an attentive, engaged defensive piece, supporting defencemen low, getting stops, and leading the breakout in the opposite direction.

“From there, Malhotra carved his way through the UConn defence, with dynamic handles in space and a sophisticated delay game setting the stage for a series of deceptive feeds through layers and area passes to set his linemates up with a full head of steam.

“The two assists look good enough on paper, but if Jack Harvey had a little more touch as a finisher, there’s a world in which Malhotra doubles that number. This really felt like his coming out party as a college player, but we’ll see if he keeps it up in November, when BU’s schedule starts to get really difficult.”

Burke wasn’t the only one who suggested Saturday night may have been Malhotra’s coming-out party. Terriers head coach and former NHLer Jay Pandolfo had some kind words for Malhotra during Saturday’s postgame:

“Caleb Malhotra was outstanding tonight,” Pandolfo began. “He had the puck a lot; he was coming through the neutral zone with the puck a lot; he was making a ton of plays; his stick was excellent all over the ice. I could go on and on. He had a great game; his best game. He was moving his feet, good defensively; just all the positives you want in a centreman, and it was great to see.

“I think he’s going to build off this game from a confidence standpoint. Any first-year player, it’s an adjustment, and I just really liked the way he played tonight.”

On today’s episode of Blackfish, Dave Hall and I discussed Caleb Malhotra and his lack of production so far, but there are promising signs that things will turn around for him given his most recent run of games. You can check that out below!