Sam Malinski

Sam Malinski (born July 27, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was an All-American for Cornell University, where he served as team captain as a senior.

Amateur
Malinski played high school hockey for Lakeville South High, graduating in 2017. He served as team captain during his senior season and helped the team make an appearance in the state tournament. Malinski continued his junior career first with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders but finished out the year with the Bismarck Bobcats. His offensive production saw a tremendous improvement the following year and, in December, he committed to play college hockey at Cornell.

Malinski's arrival in Ithaca coincided with the team posting one of its best seasons in decades. The Big Red were one of the top teams that year and were expected to compete for the National Championship. Malinski, however, wasn't just along for the ride as he produced 16 points in 25 games, playing as a regular. Cornell finished the season ranked #1 in both polls and was looking to have a big postseason. Unfortunately, before a single playoff game could be played by the Big Red, the coronavirus pandemic forced the remainder of the season to be cancelled. The fallout from the epidemic also caused Cornell to cancel its entire 2020–21 campaign. Because Malinski had already exhausted his junior eligibility, he was unable to play organized hockey during his sophomore year while also maintaining his collegiate eligibility.

By the time Malinski could finally play another organized game in the fall of 2021, then he was one of the team's leaders and took over as the key offensive contributor from the blueline. Despite the layoff, both Malinski and Cornell looked good at the start of the season. While leading the blueliners in points, Malinski also helped the team act as its typical defensive juggernaut and had the Big Red ranked in the top 10 at the end of January. However, around that time, head coach Mike Schafer had to have surgery to implant a coronary stent. While he would eventually recover, the team stumbled down the stretch in his absence and fell outside of the playoff picture.

For his senior season, Malinski was named team co-captain and was finally able to lead the team to an NCAA tournament berth. Cornell was one of the top defensive teams in the country, thanks in no small part to Malinski. He was named to the second All-American team while finishing third on the Big Red in points. More importantly, Malinski helped stymie Denver in the regional semifinal, allowing Cornell to upset the #4 overall seed with a 2–0 shutout. Cornell's season, and Malinski's amateur career, ended with a 2–1 loss to Boston University in the regional final.

Colorado Avalanche
Malinski's outstanding career at Cornell convinced the Colorado Avalanche to sign him to a two-year, entry-level contract on March 30, 2023. He made his professional debut shortly thereafter for the Avalanche's AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, joining the club for the remainder of the season on a professional try-out basis.

Malinski made his NHL debut on November 13, 2023, in a 5–1 Avalanche road win against the Seattle Kraken. He recorded his first NHL point, a secondary assist on a Nathan MacKinnon goal, in a 4–2 home loss to the Winnipeg Jets on December 7, 2023. Six nights later, on December 13, Malinski scored his first NHL goal, in the third period of a 5–1 home win over the Buffalo Sabres.