[From The Hockey Writers](https://thehockeywriters.com/hudson-malinowski-2023-nhl-draft-prospect-profile/)
2022-23 Team: Brooks Bandits (AJHL)
Date of Birth: May 19, 2004
Place of Birth: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Height: 6-foot-1, Weight: 174 pounds
Shoots: Left
Position: Center
NHL Draft Eligibility: Second Year Eligible
**Rankings**
– NHL CS (NA Skaters): 65th
– Draft Prospects Hockey: 114th
– Daily Faceoff: 117th
– THW (Horn): 103rd
Hudson Malinoski is a forward with a smooth skating stride and a lot of skill with the puck, especially in transition. Malinoski went undrafted last year in his first year of NHL Draft eligibility after spending the year with the Saskatoon Blazers of the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League U18 (SMAAAHL). It’s common for prospects to spend time in league’s like the SMAAAHL, though usually they move onto the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) for their draft year.
by malliabu
14 Comments
[Elite Prospects Page](https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/569193/hudson-malinoski)
Clearly the next Wayne Gretzky based on the anglo first name and Ukrainian / Polish last name.
This kid looks like a beast. Will have to see how well he does in College tho
Pronman had him at 96. Wheeler did not rank him. He’s an overager and was passed over last year.
Pronman said:
>Malinoski’s skating is quite intriguing. He has a fluid, powerful stride that will let him carry pucks up ice in the pro game. He has a good stick and offensive instincts and can make highly-skilled plays on the move. He’s played some center in junior but I’m guessing he’s a winger against better players. That’s mostly because I don’t see him as a great off-the-puck type or that physical a forward, although he doesn’t shy from going to the net. If he adds a little more of those dimensions there’s a lot of pieces here of an NHL forward.
Love the pick. Hudson Malinoski really impresses with his fluid skating style and solid transition play. He’s the kind of center you want on the ice when your team is struggling to get the puck out of your D-Zone. His ability to break up a cycle and skate the puck out is rivalled only by his high IQ and great playmaking ability. He’s a forward but plays like a quarterback. I love the pick, but if there’s one thing that makes me a bit nervous about picking Malinoski, it’s that I have no idea what I’m talking about, have never seen him play, so he could actually be a bust.
SMAAAHL lol
Interesting league to draft from. There have only been 200 NHL players ever drafted from the AJHL with Cale Makar being the most recent success. It’s not a heavily scouted league relative to the other Canadian leagues. To put things into perspective, 115 WHL players played in the NHL just last season.
It’s the perfect league to try and an undervalued type player. Without knowing anything about the player I’m positive on outside the box thinking like this give how few picks we have. We have to get creative to find prospects.
Big kid with great stats in Tier II. Same team where Cale Makar developed. Going the NCAA route so he’ll have some time to develop but he could be a gem. Time will tell.
Next year’s draft will be interesting.
So far these two picks have Dubas’ fingerprints all over them.
Late bloomer, missed a year due to injury, going the college route. Honestly I kind of like it for a 5th round pick. It’s a long shot at best but I like taking a swing at someone who has the potential to grow into an NHLer after 4 years of college hockey vs. someone in a higher tier league who’s peak is maybe replacement level.
I like the play style but an overager in AJHL sounds not good to me.
I like the styles and the alternative picks aren’t that much better in my opinion, but this has been a very mediocre draft. Better than defending a Korshkov pick.
This is a steal. I had him going in the First Round
overager centre playing in a weaker junior league. passed over last year but they obviously see some upside in him. late picks are always a crap shoot so i’ll reserve judgement and cheer his development on
Poor guy had to live in Brooks.