The Vancouver Canucks opened 2026 Training Camp in Penticton, B.C. on Thursday with a scene that would’ve looked more at home in a throwback workout video than a modern NHL camp: head coach Manny Malhotra jumping into the bag skates right alongside his players.
It wasn’t just a symbolic gesture, either. By the end of the session, Malhotra appeared to have held his own with the group, continuing the kind of reputation he built as a player for elite conditioning. The sight clearly caught some players off guard, especially veteran defenseman Luke Schenn, who is back with the Canucks after signing in free agency this summer.
“That’d be a first, where you’re getting toasted in a bag skate by your head coach,” said Schenn, who is in his 19th NHL training camp and 10 years younger than Malhotra. “I heard he had done that in Abbotsford; he came as advertised.”
For 20-year-old Zeev Buium, the move was less surprising, and more of a statement from the new coaching staff. He said Malhotra, general manager Ryan Johnson and assistant coach Jason Krog, along with the rest of the staff, are “probably in better shape than half of us.”
“That’s a credit to them, but that also pushes us. They’re setting the tone for what it needs to be, and it sends a message to the whole group: ‘We’re in this with you guys.’”
That, Malhotra said, is exactly the point.
“It’s that mindset of: ‘Don’t ask others what you’re not willing to do yourself,’” Malhotra said. “Our mentality as a coaching staff is that we’re all in this together. It’s not you guys and us - you guys do the work, and we’ll tell you what to do - it’s we are part of doing the work and building something.”
The Canucks’ camp runs only four days, so the pace figures to stay sharp as Malhotra continues to set his standard. He already knows many of the younger players from his time coaching the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks, which should make the transition a little smoother even as the workouts keep coming and preseason games begin next week.
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