Projection: Top six forward
Projectable skills: Playmaking, puck management lateral mobility
Development Opportunities: Skating refinements, strength

After missing a good chunk of the season, Caleb Malhotra has been the star of the 2nd of half of the season. He's emerged as the primary play driver on the Vaughan Kings, which I would have never guessed would have been the case if you asked me at the outset of the year. The selling point is his elite playmaking, always finding ways to create and exploit passing lanes, but there is no shortage of finishing touch and physical tools to get excited about in his game.

As I was so impressed with how good Malhotra looked at the end of the season, I went back and watched some of his tape from the beginning of the season. As a whole, his mechanics just looked much more awkward six short months ago, and he's come a long way to get more refined in his strides and motions. There is still some progress to be realized, yielding a more efficient and powerful skater, but the development I've seen since the start of the year leaves me optimistic that everything is trending in the right direction.

Vaughan had a handful of players who made sizeable impacts, but Malhotra rose above them all. Malhotra was the player on Vaughan I thought made the most consistent impact game in game out and really dominated when he was on the ice. Everything Caleb did was about managing the puck, controlling the play, and finding ways to advance the play into the dangerous areas. No matter where he was on the ice, he wanted to be the one in control and setting the pace. Simply, Caleb was dominant in transition, entering the offensive zone with control on almost every sequence and being nearly unstoppable in open ice. Within the offensive zone was where Malhotra did his damage as he was so exceptional at evading defenders, creating passing lanes, and finding ways to thread pucks to teammates in scoring positions. While Malhotra had flashes of attacking the net for his scoring chances, the volume he created as a playmaker separated him as the standout on the Kings. Malhotra was the star of the OHL Cup final, dictating the game and having so many scoring chances he easily could have changed the outcome if the bounces went his way. It was a fantastic week for Caleb and one that, when paired with exceptional showings in the GTHL playoffs, catapulted him up my list and into my top 5.

I've written about it before, but I've been playing catchup with my read on Caleb with how long he was out of the lineup earlier in the year. He missed some key months of the season where I was gaining confidence in my evaluation of all the players on my list, and I've been working uphill trying to untangle where exactly Malhotra fits in ever since. In recent viewings, he's certainly been making up for lost time, but in this game, I thought he was just shy of sensational. Almost every time he touched the puck, he connected on a pass to a dangerous area for a quality scoring chance. He was constantly scanning for open teammates within the offensive zone and created chance after chance for everyone around him. His success as a passer was made possible by his lateral mobility and puck skills, which he combined and relied on to escape pressure and create passing lanes to exploit. Someone who prioritizes possession and consistently finds ways to move pucks to the slot area will always catch my eye, which is exactly what Malhotra did so well in this game.

Malhotra was out of the lineup for quite some time, so it's been a while since I've seen him, and I thought he had a great game. He was one of the main play drivers and playmakers on Team Red, creating many of their offensive chances. I mainly noticed Caleb for his play along the outside of the offensive zone, protecting pucks from defenders and evading checks all through his slick puck moves and lateral skating. He was always able to solve the problem at hand and find paths to controlled entries or exits, enabling him to excel in transition. By virtue of not playing for a while and other players impressing me over that span, it's been hard to prevent Malhotra from being bumped down my rankings a slot or two every month. Now that he's back playing, I'll get a few more looks before the end of the month to ensure he's in the right spot.

Caleb fulfilled his regular duties in this game as one of Vaughan's most integral pieces in transition. He controlled the play through the middle of the ice, entering the offensive zone with control plenty of times. Caleb connected on many passes off the rush to create scoring chances and was an effective distributor. His most impressive sequence of the game was off a zone entry when Caleb took the puck wide, got a step on the defender, cut in toward the net, and tucked it between the goalie's legs. Finally, Caleb was hard on the forecheck, disrupting Shattuck's efforts to facilitate breakouts all throughout this game.

Malhotra was another one of the forwards on Vaughan that separated himself from his very talented teammates. Caleb is a powerful skater who combined lateral moves and fakes to drive play in transition all tournament long. Caleb would frequently blaze through the neutral zone, enter the offensive zone with control, and set up a scoring chance with a pass to a cutting teammate. It was so often that these sequences happened that on such a talented team, I came away thinking Caleb was one of the ones making everyone around him better. Malhotra did a great job finding space in the offensive zone. He was always looking to rotate into open pockets of space, timing himself perfectly to receive dangerous passes. And this is where Caleb made his mark, scoring many goals in the Toronto Titans Tournament, mainly via his shot. He showcased his ability to catch and release, generating tremendous power and scoring plenty of goals from various distances and angles.

A little quiet to start the game despite his powerplay assist to open things up, Caleb Malhotra was a dangerous looking player once CCM really sank their teeth into this one. He was burning Draftday with his speed and he was able to protect the puck as he entered the zone and cut to the inside and drove to the net where he was able to get some nice opportunities for himself. He was patient on the puck and spent some time down below the goal line scanning his options and looking for a pass to pick out, and he set up a few nice chances from his office down there and kept the defense in suspense about whether to pressure him or try and cut out the pass he was patiently waiting to make.