Honestly, growing up I never much cared for hockey. Sure, whenever a Team Canada hockey Olympics match would show up on the screen, I would watch. However, for me, cricket was always the sport to follow as it is what is popular in much of South Asia, including Sri Lanka, which is where I’m from. In Canada, hockey is one of the most popular sports, but South Asian hockey players often experience racism and barriers to sports accessibility.
By stepping onto the rink and leading a successful athletic career, he is a trailblazer who paved the way for South Asian representation in hockey.
It is for this reason that I believe that Manny Malhotra’s rise to National Hockey League (NHL) stardom and current position as the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks is so significant. By stepping onto the rink and leading a successful athletic career, he is a trailblazer who paved the way for South Asian representation in hockey.
Emmanuel Noveen Malhotra was born on May 18, 1980 in Mississauga, Ontario, to a Punjabi father from Pakistan and a Québécoise mother. From a young age he showed a strong determination for hockey, winning many awards such as the Player of the Year in the 15–20 age group of the Ontario Hockey League in 1998.
In a 2008 article in the India Currents newspaper, Malhotra said his proudest achievement in hockey at the time was being named “Scholastic Player of the Year” for academic excellence as a junior hockey player. “Education has always been important in my family, and balancing the rigours of junior hockey with my schoolwork was a great accomplishment,” he said.
Following this, Malhotra achieved his dream of playing hockey at the highest professional tier when he was drafted by the New York Rangers at the age of 18 during the first-round of the NHL 1998 Draft. He was able to impress scouting specialists at the time for his ability to handle the pressure of professional hockey at his age. He played four seasons with the New York Rangers, and helped the Hartford Wolf Pack — the affiliate team of the Rangers — win the Calder Cup in 2000.
In 2002, Malhotra switched over to the Dallas Stars, which he played in for three seasons. He would play with the Columbus Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks before joining the Vancouver Canucks in the 2010. During a 2011 game against Colorado, Malhotra’s left eye was struck by a hockey puck, causing permanent visual impairment, but he didn’t let this stop him from getting back on the ice. After undergoing rehabilitation and multiple eye surgeries, he reunited with the Vancouver Canucks in their attempt to win the Stanley Cup finals.
Though Malhotra left the Canucks for other teams, he returned to the Canucks as an assistant coach in 2016 after the end of his professional career as an athlete. In 2024, he took over as the head coach of the Abbotsford Canucks, and provided the team with the guidance they needed to win their first Calder Cup in 2025. A decade later, on June 1, 2026, he became the head coach of the Canucks, and the first person of South Asian descent to hold this role in the NHL.
Malhotra’s life story is not only inspiring for what he has achieved on the ice, but beyond. I feel that for once, I can finally see myself in a player — and by association, a sport that I often found very unfamiliar and unwelcoming. For many South Asians growing up who may have not seen themselves in the sport, he provides the spotlight that inspires others to play.
