by Trevor Pardy, special to CBC Sports –

Manny Malhotra says it’s great that people can watch NHL games in his father’s native Punjabi language.

“It says a lot about the popularity of hockey in different markets and the multicultural country that is Canada,” Malhotra, a forward with the Columbus Blue Jackets, told CBCSports.ca in a recent telephone interview.

Malhotra, who grew up in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, is the only player of Punjabi descent currently on an NHL roster.

But he admits he doesn’t speak the language.

“With my mother being French Canadian, English and French were the two languages spoken in our house,” says the captain of Canada’s bronze medal entry at the 2000 world junior hockey championship.

Even though the Blue Jackets have not appeared on Hockey Night in Canada in Punjabi this season, that could change come playoff time.

Columbus is in a tight race to finish among the top eight teams in the Western Conference, giving the Ohio club a chance to make its first post-season appearance since entering the NHL in 2000.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE COMPLETE STORY AT CBC.CA

STORM BIO… Manny was originally selected by the Storm in the 1st round of the 1996 OHL Priority Selection… The Mississauga native was named the team’s Rookie of the Year following the 1996-97 season… Manny was drafted in the 1st round (7th overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and played with the NY Rangers the following season… Represented Canada at the World Junior Championship… Was returned to the Storm as a 19 year old to finish the 1998-99 season.