C Caleb Malhotra - Brantford Bulldogs, OHL (2026 Draft)

[Fatass]

sorry Fatass. They are,

How often do wingers go 1 and 2 in drafts?

 

[crazyhawk]

How often do wingers go 1 and 2 in drafts?

Not often that's for sure ... we have 2007 with Kane and JVR and to look at the AI answer - I know I'm lazy we have :

AI Overview


Wingers have been selected 1st and 2nd overall in the NHL Draft six times in league history.

The six instances where both top picks were primarily wingers are:

• 1969: Rejean Houle (1st, Montreal Canadiens) and Marc Tardif (2nd, Montreal Canadiens)
• 1983: Brian Lawton (1st, Minnesota North Stars) and Sylvain Turgeon (2nd, Hartford Whalers)
• 1985: Wendel Clark (1st, Toronto Maple Leafs) and Craig Simpson (2nd, Pittsburgh Penguins)
• 1990: Owen Nolan (1st, Quebec Nordiques) and Petr Nedved (2nd, Vancouver Canucks)
• 2007: Patrick Kane (1st, Chicago Blackhawks) and James van Riemsdyk (2nd, Philadelphia Flyers)
• 2026: Gavin McKenna (1st, Toronto Maple Leafs) and Ivar Stenberg (2nd, San Jose Sharks)

 

[CanaFan]

Not often that's for sure ... we have 2007 with Kane and JVR and to look at the AI answer - I know I'm lazy we have :

AI Overview


Wingers have been selected 1st and 2nd overall in the NHL Draft six times in league history.

The six instances where both top picks were primarily wingers are:

• 1969: Rejean Houle (1st, Montreal Canadiens) and Marc Tardif (2nd, Montreal Canadiens)
• 1983: Brian Lawton (1st, Minnesota North Stars) and Sylvain Turgeon (2nd, Hartford Whalers)
• 1985: Wendel Clark (1st, Toronto Maple Leafs) and Craig Simpson (2nd, Pittsburgh Penguins)
• 1990: Owen Nolan (1st, Quebec Nordiques) and Petr Nedved (2nd, Vancouver Canucks)
• 2007: Patrick Kane (1st, Chicago Blackhawks) and James van Riemsdyk (2nd, Philadelphia Flyers)
• 2026: Gavin McKenna (1st, Toronto Maple Leafs) and Ivar Stenberg (2nd, San Jose Sharks)

Strike 1990 cause Nedved was drafted as a Centre and played C when he broke in with the Canucks.

 

[Kegs]

Would definitely be a surprise, but it's honestly pretty wide open when you're looking at the top 3 centers Bjorck, Malholtra, and Lawrence.

EP's consolidated ratings had them 5th, 7th, and 11th respectively. I suspect they are in varying orders on any given team's list.

View attachment 1248695

Per the rankings listed on their EP page:

Bjorck
Ranked as high as 3 and as low as 12
3 lists have him in the top 5
1 has him outside the top 10

Malholtra
Ranked as high as 3 and as low as 20
5 lists have him in the top 5
3 lists have him outside the top 10

Lawrence
Ranked as 4 and as low as 21
6 lists have him in the top 5
4 lists have him outside the top 10

Would be interesting to see when the lists were made. Malhotras stock sky rocketed

 

[crazyhawk]

Strike 1990 cause Nedved was drafted as a Centre and played C when he broke in with the Canucks.

Ahhh there ya go ... ai for ya! So that would mean only 5 times in league history ... maybe. So not a lot!

 

[Martin Elz]

I wouldn't worry too much about his dad being the coach in Vancouver. I don't know if you guys know this, but the co-presidents are brothers! Nepotism!!!

 

[TheKrebsCycle]

Intriguing player . Not sure what tier his offense ends up in but big skilled body

 

[UrbanImpact]

Combine interview:

Malhotra says his floor is a 2way responsible Centre. but when he is at his best (ceiling) he thinks his game can be similar to Barkov's.

 

[CLW]

Combine interview:

Malhotra says his floor is a 2way responsible Centre. but when he is at his best (ceiling) he thinks his game can be similar to Barkov's.

"Barkov" is the secret incantation to throw extra curly loops into the heads of GMs.

 

[Star Platinum]

"Barkov" is the secret incantation to throw extra curly loops into the heads of GMs.

Worked for Frondell

 

[Grub]

Combine interview:

Malhotra says his floor is a 2way responsible Centre. but when he is at his best (ceiling) he thinks his game can be similar to Barkov's.

Me wants

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Been racking my brain to come up with a singular prospect comparable for Malhotra, and I think Dylan Cozens in his draft year is the most similar. Malhotra isn't quite as athletic as Cozens, but he has better puck skills. Cozens was the better player at the same stage with the higher floor, but Malhotra's ceiling is probably a bit higher.

In some ways he reminds me of a Dylan Holloway / Dylan Strome hybrid. I know it's an odd pairing of players but he's a smooth attacking puck carrier with powerful strides and a good stick as F1 like Holloway, but he's less physical and less explosive, but more skilled and patient with his playmaking ala Strome.

I'll say he has mid tier 1C upside, but I worry it might take him some time to get there, which really increases his risk factor for me. I don't think his floor is as high as most scouts would lead you to believe, there's a very real dud factor. But his trajectory in the past 2 years is very promising.