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Why Caleb Malhotra and 13 other Canucks prospects are expected to miss training camp

Photo credit: Steven Ellis | The Nation Network

By Jeffrey Kennett

Aug 17, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 16, 2026, 21:29 EDT

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The Vancouver Canucks open training camp in Penticton next month, but a sizeable portion of their prospect pool will already be scattered across North America and Europe, including the most important prospect in the organization.

Caleb Malhotra, the top-rated prospect in the pipeline by Daily Faceoff Vancouver, is headed to Boston University and is not expected to participate in Canucks training camp. And he is far from alone.

Between the organization’s growing contingent of NCAA property and several prospects beginning seasons overseas, 14 Canucks prospects are currently expected to miss the Sept. 17-20 camp. Wilson Björck, however, is a wildcard due to his schedule at Colorado College, which operates on its unusual Block Plan, but more on that later.

A few of these names are projections since the Canucks have yet to release their official training-camp roster, but based on where each player will spend the 2026-27 season, NCAA restrictions and Vancouver’s treatment of college prospects last September, here are the prospects who won’t be at Canucks training camp in September:

Caleb Malhotra

Vancouver’s 18-year-old centre is easily the most noticeable absence.

Malhotra attended development camp after being selected third overall in June. But his classes begin at Boston University Sept. 2 — 15 days before Canucks camp opens in Penticton — which makes his route much more restrictive.

NCAA players can participate in certain professional practices or camps while maintaining their eligibility, but an enrolled player cannot miss class to participate, receive professional compensation or represent an NHL club in outside competition.

So Malhotra could theoretically participate in limited NHL activities, but he could not have the same four-day experience as an OHL prospect such as Vancouver’s 24th overall selection, Adam Novotný.

Novotný is expected to attend training camp before returning to the Peterborough Petes. He can practice, scrimmage and appear in NHL preseason games before being sent back to the OHL. Vancouver’s first exhibition game is Sept. 19 in Seattle.

For fans hoping to see Vancouver’s top prospect against NHL competition, that look may have to wait until after Boston University’s season ends.

Vancouver’s NCAA pipeline

Malhotra is only one part of the story.

Along with him, Niklas Aaram-Olsen, Yaroslav Bryzgalov, Connor Davis, Kieren Dervin, Parker Alcos, Matthew Lansing, Anthony Romani, Daimon Gardner, Matthew Perkins, and Aiden Celebrini are all expected to play NCAA hockey in 2026-27, making 11 NCAA prospects, including Malhotra, unlikely to participate in regular training camp for Vancouver.

The exact circumstances differ between schools and players, but Vancouver has shown little reason to pull NCAA prospects away from their programs for a restricted NHL camp.

Romani, Björck, Gardner, Celebrini, Perkins, and Lansing all missed Vancouver’s September prospect events last year while preparing for NCAA seasons. None appeared on the eventual Canucks training-camp roster.

This year’s college group contains some talented pieces of Vancouver’s future.

Aaram-Olsen was one of Vancouver’s top 2026 selections, while Dervin, Davis, and Bryzgalov give the organization another wave of prospects developing outside the CHL. Romani is a bit of a project, but worth following after a productive junior career, while Lansing, Gardner, Perkins, and Celebrini add further depth in the college ranks.

For years, NHL training camp was an easy opportunity to evaluate most of an organization’s best young players on the same ice as its main group, but Vancouver will not have that luxury this time around.

Three European prospects

Basile Sansonnens, Samuel Eriksson, and Dmitri Ivchenko are European-based prospects and are all expected to begin their seasons overseas.

Sansonnens is with Lausanne HC in Switzerland and has regular season games scheduled during Vancouver’s training-camp window. Unless Lausanne releases him to travel to Canada, there is little reason to expect him in Penticton while his club is already playing games.

Eriksson is continuing in Sweden with Färjestad’s system, while Ivchenko is expected to play for Omskie Yastreby in Russia’s MHL. Both are already expected to miss Vancouver’s Sept. 12-13 prospect showcase because of their European commitments, so travelling to Penticton a few days later would be surprising.

Add those three to the NCAA group and Vancouver reaches 14 expected prospect absences.

Wildcard: Wilson Björck

Björck’s first academic block ends Sept. 16 and his second begins Sept. 21. Canucks training camp runs Sept. 17-20 — leaving Vancouver’s former fifth-round pick a convenient window in which he could travel to Penticton without missing class.

He would still have NCAA restrictions surrounding exhibition games and outside competition, and Vancouver left him out of its September events last year after his commitment to college hockey. So for now, he seems like a possible 15th absence.

The Canucks will still have plenty of young players at camp, such as Novotný, Brooks Rogowski, and Lucian Bernat, while Abbotsford’s players will make up another large portion of the camp roster.

With notable prospects developing in the OHL, NCAA, AHL, Sweden, Switzerland, and Russia, there is no shortage of different development environments. However, it means training camp is no longer a gathering point for nearly every important prospect in the organization.

Vancouver used the third-overall pick on Malhotra in June, yet Canucks fans could go from development camp in July until next spring without seeing him in team colours again.

His freshman season at Boston University will provide a much better indication of how quickly he is progressing; the Canucks just won’t get that look in Penticton.

The 14 prospects currently expected to miss Canucks training camp: