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Anybody been able to shake the nagging suspicion that Malhotra's ceiling isn't much higher than Cootes? As in - quality two-way third-liner/decent 2C that 'does the little things' with 'details' and has some NHL-level skill but that's it. Good depth player on a contending team, but that's it?

His stats are okay, but no cause for excitement in a fan bas with one empty net goal and no assists. Great to hear that 'he's the most utilized player' on the team and is 'used in all situations', but that hasn't translated into anything that says he can carry a 1st line - something that is not unreasonable to expect from a 3OA pick. Kid has a bit of a history of improving over the course of a season, so we'll see. That said, the kid is kind of underwhelming so far - especially when fellow draftee Tynan Lawrence is lighting it up for the team by comparison.

If last summer's draft was akin to the Sedin draft where they were really the only stars to come out of that draft, did we end up with the Patrik Stefan of that draft?? Helluva payoff after least season's misery.

Early days, and maybe he does improve dramatically over the season as he did last year, justifies his draft position and gives hope that we may have something approaching a 1st-line player on a good team. We're not there yet, though.

He's played 4 games Lance.

A bit early.

Let's see how the year goes.

Jay Pandolfo, the ex Devil, is the BU coach.

Boston University head coach Jay Pandolfo praises freshman center Caleb Malhotra—drafted third overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 2026—for his high hockey sense, strong work ethic, and ability to generate constant scoring chances despite an initial adjustment to the tight space and pace of the NCAA.

Pandolfo also speaks highly of current day Aiden Celebrini by the way.

I always expected Malhotra to play two years at BU, right now everything is on schedule.

Lancer wrote: ↑Wed Oct 21, 2026 5:50 am Anybody been able to shake the nagging suspicion that Malhotra's ceiling isn't much higher than Cootes?

I have suspected/feared it since before he was drafted.

Lancer wrote: ↑Wed Oct 21, 2026 5:50 am justifies his draft position

Although the lead time is something like 3 years, I want to get ahead of this one and emphasize that it's not like Caleb ran some sort of "Draft me !" campaign, and if he ultimately fails to justify his draft position, in that he is noticeably outperformed by some player(s) taken aften him, that's on the people who did the drafting, not the kid.

Ronning's Ghost wrote: ↑Wed Oct 21, 2026 12:16 pm

Lancer wrote: ↑Wed Oct 21, 2026 5:50 am justifies his draft position

Although the lead time is something like 3 years, I want to get ahead of this one and emphasize that it's not like Caleb ran some sort of "Draft me !" campaign, and if he ultimately fails to justify his draft position, in that he is noticeably outperformed by some player(s) taken aften him, that's on the people who did the drafting, not the kid.

The kid is the kid. I'm relatively confident he has the work ethic and attitude to reach his ceiling on his end. As you imply, though, where is his real ceiling in relation to his draft hype and position? Time will tell whether the kid is a Barkov- or a Lundell-level talent.

We were drafting third in a two player draft, we need to keep that in mind. We'll see if the defensemen outperform him, it'll be interesting. Chase Reid and Carson Carels are looking pretty damned good so far.

Tynan Lawrence had the same struggles when he first joined the NCAA and likely one of the reasons he dropped in the draft. IIRC he struggled even moreso and didn't nearly get the icetime Caleb is currently.

The production will come.

Anthony Romani is leading powerful Michigan State in scoring with 5-3-8 in five games.

Caleb Malhotra with two assists tonight.

Even Connor Davis has four points in five game for North Dakota.