Canucks' Malhotra leads by example at energizing camp

PENTICTON, B.C. — We knew Manny Malhotra could yell and coach. We didn’t know he could still fly.

At the end of an energetic opening day of training camp that launched the rebuild era for the Vancouver Canucks , Malhotra capped Day 1 as a National Hockey League coach on Thursday by joining players — and beating some of them — in a back-and-forth conditioning skate at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

“Yeah, that would be a first where you're getting toasted in the bag skate by your head coach,” 36-year-old defenceman Luke Schenn said.

Malhotra, 46, and his staff of new assistants actually did the skate twice, at the end of both split-squad practices. Each player had to do it only once.