VANCOUVER — On Thursday morning at the dais in the makeshift video/media room in the bowels of Rogers Arena, Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson formally introduced Manny Malhotra as the team’s new head coach.Malhotra, whose hire was announced Monday night, shortly after Frank Seravalli broke the news that the hiring was imminent, was long viewed as the front-runner to succeed Adam Foote as the 23rd head coach in Canucks history. In fact, as far back as early April, we were specifically discussing the possibility of an “Abbotsford Succession plan” which would pair Johnson and Malhotra at the top of the Canucks hockey operations pyramid.That Malhotra’s introduction came two and a half days after the club confirmed the hire, and that the outcome here was long expected, did nothing to take away from how compelling Malhotra is as a spokesperson for this organization.A former Canucks player with longstanding roots in this city, Malhotra has a bone-deep understanding of what this franchise means in this community. He projects calm and competency in his demeanour. He’s selective, thoughtful and intentional in the manner with which he speaks. And Malhotra easily communicated all of that in a concise, authoritative manner in his first meeting with the media as Canucks head coach.The Athletic was there on Thursday, and here are five primary takeaways that stuck out to us from the formal beginning of Malhotra’s Canucks tenure.1. How Malhotra will measure success next seasonAfter finishing 32nd in the NHL standings and at the dawn of a rebuild, Johnson and Malhotra have both acknowledged that the team’s success won’t be measured by wins and losses next season. It’s the first time in several years that there won’t be any pressure or expectations on making the playoffs, which means the goalposts will naturally shift.“I think one thing that we experienced in Abbotsford was that the commitment to the daily improvements was something that helped our group get to where we did over the course of the year,” said Malhotra. “I think that is one of the major reasons why this is such a special opportunity.“For me and our coaching staff, it’ll be about those daily incremental improvements. Today’s practice needs to look better than yesterday’s practice. The level of execution needs to be better than what it was yesterday. I think by developing that mindset with the guys, you start to see individual growth, collective growth in the group, and that’s where we’ll start to take strides.”Prioritizing development and improvement is a fairly obvious goal for a team in Vancouver’s position, but the specific ways Malhotra wants to pursue that target sound thoughtful, intentional and rooted in practical, implementable concepts. He spoke, for example, about how teams across the league mostly focus on the same principles for what they want their team’s identity and culture to be, and how critical it would be to relay that messaging to players in a crystal-clear, easy-to-apply roadmap.“If you listen to 31 other teams, they’re gonna be using the same lingo, ‘We’re going to compete. We’re going to hold each other accountable,’” said Malhotra. “We’re going to use those same words in our process, but our guys are going to have a very clear definition as to what those things mean to the daily.“What is our standard about? What does compete mean to us? What does accountability look like on a daily basis? What does it look like on the bench? I think implementing that understanding of what those words are going to mean for our group will give us a much clearer path for how we’re going to navigate this and get out of it.”Malhotra’s understanding of the importance of going deeper with his players and being as transparent and specific as possible, rather than sticking solely to vague platitudes and hockey buzzwords, is part of what makes him such a skilled communicator as a head coach.2. Manny on the possibility of coaching his son, CalebIt’s no secret that Manny’s son, Caleb, has shot up draft boards to the point where he’s a strong contender to be a top-five pick, and a legit consideration for the Canucks with the No. 3 selection. Johnson’s commentary earlier this week signalled that the Canucks won’t shy away from drafting Caleb if they believe he’s the best player available. On Thursday, Manny didn’t want to go too far down the hypothetical road, but he sounded comfortable with the possibility of coaching his son, if the organization chose to select him, even if he stopped short of giving his full-blown blessing to a potentially awkward situation.“We’ve had a very clear understanding in my household that first and foremost, I am dad, who also happens to be a professional hockey coach,” said Malhotra. “When we are talking about hockey, there’s a decision by my kids whether they want to talk to dad or coach. We will continue to have that rule in my house, and it’s served us well as a family.”