For most of his hockey life, Caleb Malhotra has carried a name people recognized before they recognized his game.

The son of longtime NHL center and current Vancouver Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra, he grew up around the sport, around NHL players and coaches, and around the expectations that naturally come with a recognizable hockey surname. Yet as his draft year unfolded, something changed. The conversations surrounding Caleb stopped focusing on who his father was and started focusing on who he had become.

That shift didn’t happen overnight.

A year ago, Malhotra was playing in the BCHL with the Chilliwack Chiefs, producing 26 points in 44 games. Scouts saw a smart two-way center with good size, strong habits and plenty of hockey sense, but few projected the offensive breakout that was about to come.

Malhotra, however, never doubted it.