2026 NHL Draft Profile: Caleb Malhotra

I'm going to share something that will probably be a bit controversial. I have seen and heard from more than a few scouts that rather than McKenna being the clear first overall pick, or even him and Stenberg being neck and neck in that top tier, that this year's draft there is actually more of a tier of three or even four top players. That doesn't necessarily mean that any of the four players included in that top tier could or should go first overall, it more means that they are close together in terms of projected value.

Which brings me to Malhotra, who seems to be the big late riser in this year's draft – although, really, he's been rising all year from relative obscurity (I think being a former NHLer's son is the biggest reason why anyone knew of him before this season) to a top-5 player in the draft this year. In fact, in a Corey Pronman article that he made just before the lottery that gave odds to who would be taken first overall, this was the breakdown:

• McKenna - 50%
• Stenberg - 20%
• Malhotra and tomorrow's player - combined 20%
• Combination of three other top ranked defensemen - combined 10%

Honestly, once the Leafs won the lottery I spent an absurd amount of time waffling back and forth on who to include in the five options I wanted to present – not necessarily as options to take first overall, but you never know if a trade down could come. It was a dead heat between Malhotra and Tynan Lawrence, another top center prospect, but I went with Malhotra because he has much more helium thanks to his dominant playoff run.

THE BASICS: STATS AND CONTEXT

• Position: Left-shot center
• League(s): OHL
• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 183 lbs
• Birthdate: Jun 2, 2008

Here are his draft rankings, as of writing this:

• TSN NHL Scout Poll: Not ranked
• Cam Robinson NHL Scout Poll: 8th
• Corey Pronman: 10th
• Will Scouch: 15th
• Elite Prospects: 5th
• Scott Wheeler: 4th
• McKeen's Hockey: 4th
• Upside Hockey: 12th
• NHL Central Scouting: 6th (North American skaters)

Malhotra was drafted 8th overall by Kingston back in 2024, and wound up on Brantford after they acquired his rights for a bunch of draft picks later that same year. Last year, he actually played in the BCHL for the Chilliwack Chiefs. He had committed to the NCAA path, and it wasn't clear at the start of the season if or when the rumoured CHL-NCAA deal would be finalized. He may have been able to jump to the CHL partway through last season like some others did, but he stayed in the BCHL for that season. There, he had 26 points in 44 regular season games, which was 3rd in the league for U17 players. Then he had a very strong playoff run with 17 points in 21 game, which was tied for 8th overall and was first BY FAR for U17 players. The second best U17 player had... 2 points.

This year, with the NCAA eligibility cleared up, Malhotra joined Brantford in the OHL for his first season. They were one of the early season favourites to win the OHL because of how stacked they were:

• Jake O'Brien was their top center and he was the 8th overall pick by Seattle
• Adam Jiricek was in his second season with Brantford and was a 16th overall pick by St. Louis
• Adam Benak was a 4th round pick by Minnesota
• Owen Protz was a 4th round pick by Montreal
• Parker Holmes was a 4th round pick by Chicago
• Edison Engle was a 6th round pick by Winnipeg
• Ryerson Leenders is their top goalie and was a 7th round pick by Buffalo

In addition, Brantford absolutely loaded up by trading for high value OHL veterans for their playoff run. They got Ben Danford, Jett Luchanko and Marek Vanacker who were all first round picks, as well as Charlie Paquette who was a 7th round pick and Zachary Sandhu who was undrafted by a 20 year old and Danford's pairing partner from Oshawa.

And in the midst of that, Caleb Malhotra joined as a young 17 year old who had never played for any of the major junior leagues in North America. He was their second line center all year, unless Jake O'Brien was out of the lineup for some reason. He finished this season with 84 points in 67 games which was second best on the top offensive team in the OHL, behind only O'Brien. His result was tied for 11th best in the OHL for all ages, and was second place among U18 players.

Then the playoffs came, and Malhotra took his game to another level. Despite being eliminated in the semi-finals, as of now he is tied for second in the OHL playoffs with 13 goals and 26 points in 15 games. That led his team, ahead of even O'Brien. His 13 goals are tied for the second most. And once again, if you only look at U18 players he has 11 goals and 15 points more than second place. So if you're one of those who believe some players have an innate ability to 'rise to the occasion' and play even better in the playoffs because of a clutch gene or just playing a style that works better in the tighter and tougher style, Malhotra has shown signs of having it.

Funnily enough, unlike what you might expect for a guy who's considered to be a top prospect in this year's draft, Malhotra has no international experience. None. Not a single game, not in any exhibition or minor tournament. He didn't play at the Hlinka, not in any of the U17 tournaments where Canada even has TWO teams, not at the World U18s (though that was because Brantford was still in the playoffs). The only thing he got into this year was being the Captain of the Team CHL challenge against the best of USA's prospects on the NTDP and in the USHL. He was considered one of the CHL's best players and had 2 points in 3 games, which was actually tied for second on the team.

THE GOOD: ELITE DEFENSE, TRANSITIONS, PHYSICALITY, OFFENSIVE FLASHES, CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT

By the time the draft comes around, I'm very certain that the general opinion on who the best center is will have coalesced around Malhotra. He is clearly a pure, natural, grass-fed and non-GMO center and I have no doubts he can stick there. He has the size (6'2"), he has the play style, and he has the skills and instincts to become a high-end two-way center. You can see it hinted at in his tracking data – there isn't really anything he's not good at to some degree and you could argue he's very good to elite at everything.

When it comes to his defense, Malhotra is considered one of the most disruptive defensive forces in the 2026 draft class. He provides relentless pressure on the backcheck and forecheck, with a good stick for stealing pucks and using his skating and size to snuff out breakouts by the opposition. He has great awareness for where everyone's located and anticipating how plays may develop, and where to position himself to help his team the most. He puts himself into passing lanes, uses his stick to pick off or deflect a pass, or even just discourage the puck carrier from even trying to make the pass. He can be relied upon to kill penalties, defend late leads, and get matched up against the other team's top lines to shut them down.

Additionally, Malhotra plays a physically heavy game that projects very well to the NHL. With the puck, he will proactively initiate checks and use reverse-hits to create more space for himself – he'll do the same thing when racing to dump ins in either zone to seal off the opponent and protect the puck along the boards. He already shows his physical dominance in outmuscling defensemen in front of the net in the offensive zone, or other forwards in the defensive zone. By using his body as a shield, he ensures that even when he isn't moving at top speed, he remains nearly impossible to get the puck off him or fight through him when he's defending.

When the puck is on his stick, Malhotra is very strong if not elite at driving transitions. He is highly effective at receiving passes in motion, then using feints, weight shifts, and changing his pace in either direction to freeze defenders and create lanes to pass or carry it into the offensive zone with control. He has very good puck handling skills, and I think this improved a good amount through the season, especially when he's in heavy traffic areas with little room to move. He has the ability to baits defenders into reaching for the puck with a poke check only to dangle through their "triangles" (between their foot and stick) or pull the puck into his hip to protect it.

When it comes to regular offensive skill, Malhotra's biggest strength is definitely as a high-end playmaker. He has borderline elite vision and creativity as a passer. He can pull off no-look passes, slip a pass between the legs, and flick cross-ice saucer passes through defensive layers. He also has great hockey sense for timing his passes, and timing his off puck positioning. As a goal scorer, he has a good shot but he mostly works at finding soft spots in coverage and trying to sneak in as a backdoor option. He has a heavy shot that honestly could be a bigger weapon for him, but it took him most of the year to use it more. If you separate his season into two halves of the regular season and then the playoffs as a third group, his shots per game rate went from 1.76 in the first half, 2.42 in the second half, and 3.67 in the playoffs. His shooting percentage finished at 21.54% combined for the regular season and playoffs, a good indication that he has a good shot and/or shoots from good locations.

THE FLAWS: EXPLOSIVE SKATING, PUCK HANDLING, OFFENSIVE DECISION MAKING

While I said Malhotra seems to be good if not very good at everything, that doesn't mean there aren't areas for improvement that could make him even better. If I were to list those from areas of most to least important, I'll start with his skating. The biggest issue here is that he doesn't have a quick first step, and working on improving that explosiveness will help him all over the ice and on both sides of the puck. He's more of a smooth glider as a skater than showing off speed and power. His size, reach and physicality help him overcome any issues from that in junior, but he'll want to improve that to make his transition to the NHL a lot easier.

The second issue is getting more consistent with Malhotra's decision making. This is something that most prospects, even the elite ones, deal with considering their youth. It takes more time, repetition, practice and experience to learn what to do and what not to do in a given situation. In junior, he has confidence that he can sometimes hang onto the puck with an additional dangle or just outmuscle the defender to protect the puck, and that won't fly in the NHL. He can also try to get too cute or find a highlight reel play instead of making the simple and effective one at times.

I've seen some scouts criticize Malhotra for trying to be too fancy, and while I agree that's something he should work on, I don't mind guys doing that at his age when playing in junior. Trying things is good practice to learn what you can do and to improve your execution. That said, it can also show areas where he can improve for the future. For example, some scouts have pointed out mechanical issues in his puck control that could be smoothed out, which would help him succeed more often as he plays at higher levels. He will occasionally handle the puck too far away from his body, leaving it vulnerable to being stolen or knocked away. His reception of passes at high-speed can also be inconsistent, where he will bobble the puck and kill his momentum of a rush. At this point though, we're getting nitpicky.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

While Malhotra doesn't necessarily have the long-standing star power of a McKenna or a Stenberg, he's become an elite star in his own right. He went from not even being considered a first rounder at the start of the year, to becoming arguably the top center in this draft and a likely top 5 pick. He has an argument to being the most improved player this year, and he showed his improvements constantly throughout the season. There has often been late risers who get taken very early in the draft, like a Beckett Sennecke a couple of years ago, and Malhotra seems like another one.

In addition to those improvements, Malhotra also has a much younger birthday than both McKenna and Stenberg. He is six months younger than McKenna, and nine months younger than Stenberg. I ask myself... if Malhotra has improved this much through this season, if he improves more over the next 6-9 months how much closer in projected value could he become to those two? He will very likely not jump right into the NHL like the other two might, but he will be playing in the NCAA next year on one of the top programs to help get him ready for pro hockey and real systems that don't really exist for most junior teams.

So when I said earlier that Malhotra put his name in that 'top tier' for the draft along with McKenna and Stenberg (and the next player to be profiled tomorrow), I was both relaying what seems to be a not insignificant number of scouts are thinking and is something I kind of agree with. I think he's probably the fourth and last player in that tier, but his positional value helps a lot. I've liked him all season and while I don't think he's someone you should take at first overall, he is absolutely someone I would think about taking if they traded down.

Thanks for reading!

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, a lot of I reinvest back into my prospect work through in those streaming and scouting services. Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!