The Vancouver Canucks kicked off their 2026 Training Camp in Penticton on Thursday.
For the first time in his career, Manny Malhotra is running an NHL training camp. The newest head coach of the Vancouver Canucks took the ice in Penticton on Thursday as the organization officially opened its 2026 Training Camp. With less than two weeks until the season starts, Malhotra wasted no time setting the standard as each group went through multiple intense on-ice sessions on the first day of camp.
As mentioned, Thursday at the South Okanagan Events Centre was anything but a light practice. Malhotra and his staff put the players through a variety of battle drills and general conditioning. After both groups were done, the 46-year-old spoke to the media about how he felt the first day of training camp went.
"I was very pleased with the energy and the jump of the guys today," said Malhotra. "There was a lot of chatter on the ice, the competitive nature of a lot of the drills, the bumping and grinding, and the one-on-one battles. The intensity was high, and that's a great start for me. It starts from there. We can hone in on the details a little bit later on, but as long as those elements are in place, we can work with that. So it was a great environment from a competitive standpoint, and I think the guys very quickly got out of summer skate mode"
When watching the drills, one thing that stood out was how vocal Malhotra was. He used his voice to convey messages and ensure mistakes were pointed out and fixed. As Malhotra explained, it is not only important to point out mistakes, but also to commend players when they deliver an impressive performance.
"Absolutely. You know they are going to replicate what they're praised for. So when it's done properly and it's executed well and it's done with pace and it's done the way it's supposed to look, obviously you want to let them know that they're doing a good job in that moment. That's something that's going to build their confidence and make them want to do it again."
Day 1 also contained a surprise as Malhotra joined in for the bag skate at the end of each session. Normally, coaches do not participate in bag skates, which made watching the Canucks coach race his players a sight to see. According to Malhotra, there was a good reason why he put his body through the intense drill on Thursday.
"I think that mindset of don't ask others what you're not willing to do yourself. Obviously, I time it so that I know that they're a little bit more tired, so I can be a part of it. But no, 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're a part of doing the work and building something the way we want to run here."
This year's training camp is more complicated than in the past. On top of only having four days, Vancouver also has to plan for a pre-season game on Saturday against the Seattle Kraken. As Malhotra explained, he and his team are well prepared and know what to focus on during their stay in Penticton.
"It's a very planned-out, methodical itinerary for camp. Obviously, with the emphasis being that we need to be better defensively, and you want to build things from the back end out. A lot of our drills today were based off of how we want to defend and the importance of it. How we move through camp, how it's going to correlate into more opportunities up the ice and less time in our own zone. So that was the mindset. The next couple days are laid out in that same format of working through our systems as we go."
Overall, Malhotra ran an impressive first day of training camp. The players were engaged, and the drills looked organized. Malhotra also showed everyone in attendance that he will ensure this Canucks group is well prepared and ready to battle hard all season.
Manny Malhotra At Vancouver Canucks 2026 Training Camp (Photo Credit: Izzy Cheung/The Hockey News)Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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