Hudson Malinoski is a centre from Saskatoon. He has not played in the WHL, instead opting for the AJHL for a year to allow him to go the NCAA route. He is committed to Providence College for next season.
Like any prospect at this stage, that makes him a long-term project to get to pro hockey.
He is 19, making him an "overager" and is listed at 6'1" and 174 lb. He shoots left.
The Hockey Writers
Aiden Fink 👉 Sam Court 👉 Hudson Malinoski
— Brooks Bandits (@BrooksBandits) December 13, 2022
This was an all #BrooksBandits goal for 🇨🇦 West in their 6-3 win over 🇨🇦 East at the #WJAC! pic.twitter.com/0falA9zHJ0
Powerplay was BUZZING!
— Brooks Bandits (@BrooksBandits) May 13, 2023
Hudson Malinoski's 1st goal of the #CentennialCup! pic.twitter.com/3OYpmvfToX
The Centennial Cup is the National Junior A Hockey Championship. Malinoski scored two goals to help Brooks win the Cup.
EP has this to say:
NHL teams are always on the hunt for late-bloomers who seem to be on a clear upward curve in their development. Hudson Malinoski fits that profile.
This was only his second year playing top-level hockey. He made the jump from the SAAHL AA circuit to AAA two seasons ago and then joined the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL in his draft year. Malinoski didn't need time to adapt his play to the league; he immediately jumped into the team's top-six and started scoring at a high clip.
The Bandits forward showed a diverse skill set in the AJHL. He found teammates in the offensive zone with precise passes, dangled around sticks, and forechecked with intensity. Although he accumulated more assists than goals this season, it's really the forward's shot that stood out to our team. Capable of both delaying his release and speeding it up depending on his space and the lanes available to him, Malinoski was a consistent scoring threat on the power play. He froze defenders with fakes and then moved around them to fire. He also blended stickhandling moves into his firing motion.
"There are some power forward elements in his game, too. Constant engagement in all three zones and a decently effective offpuck presence offensively," Elite Prospects lead scout David St-Louis wrote in an April report. To become more than an NCAA scorer and earn a role in the professional game, he will have to add an extra layer of skill to his game, improve the speed of his reads in transition, and work on his uneven skating stride.
Backstory:
The Star Phoenix
