On Friday, May 24, the Vancouver Canucks announced changes to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in Abbotsford. Former Abbotsford Canucks head coach Jeremy Colliton parted ways from the team to seek NHL opportunities, and assistant coach Gary Agnew was also let go. Stepping into Colliton’s place is a familiar face to the Canucks organization with Manny Malhotra being named Abbotsford’s new bench boss. He will be a welcomed addition to the organization and is the right coach for the job.
“Being able to return to the Vancouver Canucks organization is an incredible opportunity for both me and my family,” said Malhotra. “Getting the chance to help develop the next wave of young talent is an honour and a privilege. We have a lot of good prospects in the group, and I can’t wait to get started on the ice. I would like to thank the Toronto Maple Leafs as well for providing me the opportunity to work with them the past four years.”
Malhotra Has Years of NHL Coaching Experience
Malhotra has spent the past seven seasons as an assistant coach in the NHL. From 2017-2020 he was an assistant coach in Vancouver and from 2021-2024 he was an assistant coach in Toronto. He found a lot of success during his time with the Maple Leafs. They had several different coaching changes to their staff, but what stayed consistent was his presence behind the bench. He had a great relationship with former Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, but with Keefe’s recent departure, he saw the writing on the wall and jumped at this new golden opportunity to run his own bench in a professional hockey league.
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In Toronto, Malhotra helmed several different tasks. In his first year, he ran the Maple Leafs’ power play but was reassigned to a different task after Spencer Carbery was hired for the 2021-22 season. From that point on, he went back to his roots and helped the forward group in their defensive game. During his time in the NHL, he was an impactful bottom-six forward who played big minutes on the penalty kill and important defensive minutes in the final stretches of important games. Bringing that knowledge and coaching experience to the young players in Abbotsford next season like Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Ty Muller, and Josh Bloom will be instrumental to their AHL development as they hope to become NHL players one day.
Malhotra Is Familiar With the Canucks Organization and System
Malhotra spent parts of three seasons in Vancouver as a Canuck and even wore an “A” as an alternate captain during the Canucks 2011 run to the Stanley Cup Final. Also, as previously mentioned, he was an assistant coach in Vancouver for three seasons before joining Toronto. This was a big reason why Patrik Allvin brought him back into the organization as their AHL head coach.
“Bringing in someone who is familiar with the organization is a big win for us,” said Allvin. “Manny’s experience in hockey development and coaching has prepared him really well for this head coaching opportunity. We look forward to working with him and providing our staff in Abbotsford all the support they need to continue to develop our players.”
This hire is also perfect for Malhotra in both his professional and personal life. Every assistant coach dreams of one day running their own bench at the professional level and he has been granted this great chance. An opportunity to become a head coach in a league that sends players to the NHL with the organization that he went to the Stanley Cup Final with and also gave him his first NHL coaching job. It is also great for Malhotra on a personal level since his son Caleb will be playing for the Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) which is only a 30-minute drive from Abbotsford.
The stars really aligned for both Malhotra and the Canucks with this hiring. Both sides clearly wanted to work with each other again. Now the goal for Malhotra is to prepare for a long AHL season where he is the captain of the ship.
