Canucks' potential draft target Caleb Malhotra is related to Steve Nash

Canucks' potential draft target Caleb Malhotra is related to Steve Nash originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

>Much has been made about Caleb Malhotra's father, Manny.

>Manny Malhotra is the new head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. They've got the No. 3 overall pick in this week's NHL Draft. They could select Caleb in that spot.

>They also could go in a different direction.

>In a recent article by NHL insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Pagnotta pours some cold water on the ongoing idea.

>"I’m not expecting the Vancouver Canucks to select Caleb Malhotra with the third-overall selection, if he’s available," Pagnotta writes.

>Regardless, though, there's other intrigue around Malhotra that goes beyond his dad.

>His mother's maiden name is Joann Nash.

>Nash, as in Steve Nash, the basketball Hall of Famer.

>The former point guard is Malhotra's uncle.

>MORE: It's time to ask a serious Matthew Knies question

>Talk about some impressive athletic genes on both sides of the family.

>Malhotra, who is committed to play college hockey at Boston University, is a high-end hockey prospect even without factoring in the genetics.

>“Malhotra, however, has been on a rocket ship trajectory late in his draft year, morphing into a top offensive producer for Brantford down the stretch and into the OHL playoffs," The Athletic's Thomas Drance wrote earlier this offseason. "He’s 6-2, he has plus wheels, he’s a conscientious, physically assertive two-way center, and his production down the stretch has begun to draw comparisons to Jonathan Toews from his biggest admirers in the scouting community.”

>It remains to be seen whether the Canucks will pick him, but someone is going to get a special player.

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