Caleb Malhotra’s path to the Canucks has already moved fast, and now the first-round pick is headed to another new stop with a clear plan in place.
Malhotra said Tuesday that he intends to play NCAA hockey this fall at Boston University, where he’ll join a roster that already includes two other Canucks prospects: defenceman Aiden Celebrini, 21, and forward Niklas Aaram-Olsen, 18.
His rise has come in sharp jumps. Two seasons ago, he was in the BCHL with the Chilliwack Chiefs, playing 25 minutes down the Highway No. 1 from Abbotsford. That year, he put up eight goals and 26 points in 44 regular season games, then raised his level in the playoffs with five goals and 17 points in 21 games.
This past season, Malhotra made the move to the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs and took another step forward. He finished with 29 goals and 84 points in 67 regular season games, then added 13 goals and 26 points in 15 postseason games.
The NCAA’s new scholarship opportunities for major junior players helped set that route in motion. It’s the reason Malhotra went to the OHL in the first place, and from the way it sounds, he likely would have been back in Chilliwack if those rules had not changed.
Vancouver has already seen a similar jump from another recent first-rounder. Centre Braeden Cootes, 19, was the Canucks’ top pick in last year’s draft, impressed enough at training camp to make the opening night roster, and played three games with the big club before being sent back to junior.
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