Maple Leafs prospect checkpoint: How has Hudson Malinoski fared through 5 months of 2025-26?
Selected at the time as a member of the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Malinoski recorded 16 goals and 53 assists, on the AJHL’s 2022-23 championship winning Bandits team. Malinoski finished the season fourth on the Bandits in points before taking his talents to Providence College.
Malinoski has shown an ability to make plays at the collegiate level. The year after being drafted, the Friars forward recorded nine goals and nine assists, finishing third on the team in points during his freshman season. The follow-up act was even better for Malinoski, appearing in 35 games as a sophomore, totalling 11 goals and 12 assists, tied for the team lead in goals and finishing second among all Friars in points. Last season’s success helped to move Malinoski from an honourable mention on The Leafs Nation’s 2024 summer prospect rankings, to 19th for the 2025 rendition.
This season, Malinoski has appeared in 31 games, totalling 11 goals and three assists, a step back from the play he showed during both his freshman and sophomore years. The Friars currently find themselves with a record of 21-8-2, good for first place in the Hockey East Division. As a team, the Friars are ranked seventh in the country, giving Malinoski a chance to play in some big games as the Friars try to close out the season strong. The Friars have three games remaining on their regular season slate.
Malinoski is a player who missed some crucial time for his development due to a freak injury in his teenage years that saw him fall off the roof of his house. At the time, there was concern about the quality of life post-injury, so the fact that Malinoski has reached the NCAA level and shown an ability to have success is a great hockey story already.
The 21-year-old Malinoski is listed at 6-foot-1, 189 pounds, giving him the size and skating ability that can potentially warrant a chance at the professional level if he can continue to evolve his game. Malinoski should remain at the collegiate level for his senior year, which will then give the Maple Leafs another year to decide the future outlook of the Friars forward before they lose his rights.