Considering the way Toronto Maple Leafs fifth-round pick Hudson Malinoski&#8217;s playing career started, to be talking about him not only playing in the NCAA pushing for an NHL career, but thriving in his sophomore season is nothing short of a miracle.
It may sound like an exaggeration, but it&#8217;s not. Malinoski was only 13 years old when he fell off the roof of his family home while shovelling a snowboard jump with a friend back in 2017. He was brought to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a concussion, but following a meeting with a neurologist after his symptoms appeared to be getting worse, it was discovered that he had a torn vertebral artery, an injury that can potentially be fatal if not treated properly and could have led to a stroke or an aneurysm if not treated properly. As if that wasn&#8217;t enough of a load of stress on him and his family, they had to make the decision to have him undergo a surgery procedure that had never been done on a child before. Despite the risk of not being able to play the sport he loved ever again, it was necessary to put his life and well-being first. Thankfully, he came out on the other side with the ability to play sports still intact and resumed activities the following season. Below is an excerpt from a great article that goes in-depth on Malinoski&#8217;s recovery and the painstaking process that led him back to the ice, with his mother Tanya recalling the events leading up to the surgery.
“Dr. [Mike] Kelly knew how much hockey and sports meant to Hudson and was on the phone the entire night before the surgery, with his mentor in New York, trying to come up with an alternate surgery,” noted Tanya. In the end, Dr. Kelly decided to perform a surgery that “hadn’t been done on a kid.” He would clamp the artery closed and re-route the blood flow so Hudson would only have one vertebral artery. It was a three-hour, scary surgery with a lot of important doctors involved,” recalled Tanya, adding that the surgery went well but they had to wait months to make sure everything healed and the blood was flowing properly.&#8221;
You also can read The Leafs Nation&#8217;s piece on Malinoski from our 2023 Prospect Rankings <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/tlns-2023-offseason-leafs-prospect-rankings-19-hudson-malinoski">here.</a>
By the time Malinoski returned to action, he had gotten a full season playing AA before his AAA season was shut down early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All of this is to say that Malinoski&#8217;s development is technically one year behind where other players his age are at this point. He didn&#8217;t play another full season until 2021-22, but his talents began to shine through after joining the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) for his second year of draft eligibility, tallying 69 points in 44 games when the Maple Leaf selected him 153rd overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. He committed to Providence College of the NCAA and had a respectable freshman year, recording 18 points in 35 games, and he seems to have taken a step forward in his sophomore year, with five points in five games on the season to start.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Hudson Malinoski was held without a point for the first time this season on Saturday, but he still made an impact by netting the eventual shootout winner against Vermont.
Totals (NCAA): 5 GP, 2 G, 5 PTS, 14 SOG, 54.1% FOW<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LeafsForever?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LeafsForever</a> <a href="https://t.co/uBUrH3gR7N">pic.twitter.com/uBUrH3gR7N</a>
&mdash; Kyle Cushman (@Kyle_Cush) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kyle_Cush/status/1850575018788262067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
If I had to offer an under-the-radar prospect to keep an eye on as he progresses, Malinoski is the one to come to mind without question. His injury and proceeding surgery as a 13-year-old has him a couple of steps behind the rest of the players his age who have been drafted, but if anything, that just makes him a more intriguing piece and potentially somebody who can take teams by surprise if his development continues without any obstacles. There&#8217;s a real late-bloomer vibe around this kid.
Notes from the rest of the prospect pool:
<ul>
<li>Easton Cowan extended his regular-season point streak to 44 games this week, but who&#8217;s counting? Well, the London Knights are. Cowan is up to six goals and ten points in eight games on the young OHL season including a secondary assist on the goal below and an empty-net goal later in the game.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Barks is on the board! 🐶<a href="https://twitter.com/NHLFlyers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NHLFlyers</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsGoFlyers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsGoFlyers</a> <a href="https://t.co/mmzRhVVPiA">pic.twitter.com/mmzRhVVPiA</a>
&mdash; London Knights (@LondonKnights) <a href="https://twitter.com/LondonKnights/status/1850608493528531324?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<ul>
<li>Everybody&#8217;s new favourite prospect Nikita Grebenkin is off to a good start in his American Hockey League (AHL) rookie season, scoring his second goal of the season in Friday night&#8217;s 4-3 win over the Belleville Senators. The Marlies&#8217; perfect start to the season was halted by the Senators on Saturday night with a 2-1 shootout loss, but they remain at the top of the North Division and second in the Eastern Conference after seven games with a record of 6-0-1. Grebenkin was a favourite of Craig Berube&#8217;s in training camp and will surely be one of the top call-up candidates if he keeps his production near this level.</li>
<li>Speaking of AHL players who are off to strong starts, look no further than goaltender Artur Akhtyamov. The Maple Leafs&#8217; goaltending depth was a talking point for much of the start of the season (although it&#8217;s fizzled a bit with their latest three-game losing streak), but beyond Anthony Stolarz, Joseph Woll, Dennis Hildeby, and Matt Murray, Akhtyamov is 4-0-0 in his first four games with the Marlies complemented by a 1.47 goals-against average (GAA) and a .941 save percentage (SV%) to start the year. It will be interesting to see how Marlies head coach John Gruden mixes in starts for veteran Matt Murray with a couple of promising prospects in Akhtyamov and Hildeby needing semi-regular playing time.</li>
<li>2024 seventh-round pick Sam McCue is off to a strong start with the OHL&#8217;s Peterborough Petes with five goals and ten points in 11 games to start the OHL season. The brother of former London Knight and San Jose Sharks prospect Max McCue is an intriguing overage prospect who was covered by TLN&#8217;s Steven Ellis as a potential <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/sam-mccue-could-be-another-late-round-steal-for-the-toronto-maple-leafs">late-round gem</a>.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LeafsForever?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LeafsForever</a> prospect Sam McCue scores off the scramble in front for his 5th goal of the season. He has 10 points in 11 games to start the season. <a href="https://t.co/wNfHyipzWZ">pic.twitter.com/wNfHyipzWZ</a>
&mdash; More like Nikita GREATbyonkin (@brigstew86) <a href="https://twitter.com/brigstew86/status/1850701976205435352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<ul>
<li>Speaking of junior players off to strong starts, 2024 fifth-round pick Miroslav Holinka is fitting in nicely with the Western Hockey League (WHL)&#8217;s Edmonton Oil Kings. It&#8217;s the Czechia native&#8217;s first season overseas in his young career and he scored a goal this week to give him seven points in nine games on the season so far.</li>
<li>Sticking in the WHL, quick-rising defensive prospect Noah Chadwick continued his strong start to the season by adding a pair of assists in Saturday&#8217;s win over the Red Deer Rebels. He&#8217;s up to eight points in nine games in his first season as captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and he doesn&#8217;t appear to be interested in anything but playing for the Marlies next season.</li>
<li>It can&#8217;t all be sunshine and rainbows to start the year. 2024 first-round pick Ben Danford is off to a slow start with the OHL&#8217;s Oshawa Generals, with only three assists in 11 games to start the season. Danford was forced to miss the entirety of preseason after he was the victim of some friendly fire in development camp, taking a hit from camp invite Marshall Finnie that resulted in a concussion. It&#8217;s a long season, but certainly not the start offensively he was hoping for.</li>
<li>We&#8217;ll finish off on a positive note. 2024 fourth-round pick Victor Johansson has taken a giant step forward in Sweden&#8217;s junior leagues. The 6-foot-1 defender has 14 points in 17 games for Leksands IF&#8217;s junior team to start the season and is primed for a look with the big club sooner rather than later.</li>
</ul>
<img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-111196" src="https://i0.wp.com/publish.theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2099/08/PRIMN_24_HED_727x404_POST_Final_en-CA_GSS00011213.jpg?resize=795%2C404&#038;ssl=1" alt="" width="795" height="404" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/publish.theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2099/08/PRIMN_24_HED_727x404_POST_Final_en-CA_GSS00011213.jpg?w=795&amp;ssl=1 795w, https://i0.wp.com/publish.theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2099/08/PRIMN_24_HED_727x404_POST_Final_en-CA_GSS00011213.jpg?resize=300%2C152&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/publish.theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2099/08/PRIMN_24_HED_727x404_POST_Final_en-CA_GSS00011213.jpg?resize=768%2C390&amp;ssl=1 768w" sizes="(max-width: 795px) 100vw, 795px" />
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Considering the way Toronto Maple Leafs fifth-round pick Hudson Malinoski's playing career started, to be talking about him not only playing in the NCAA pushing for an NHL career, but thriving in his sophomore season is nothing short of a miracle.

It may sound like an exaggeration, but it's not. Malinoski was only 13 years old when he fell off the roof of his family home while shovelling a snowboard jump with a friend back in 2017. He was brought to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a concussion, but following a meeting with a neurologist after his symptoms appeared to be getting worse, it was discovered that he had a torn vertebral artery, an injury that can potentially be fatal if not treated properly and could have led to a stroke or an aneurysm if not treated properly. As if that wasn't enough of a load of stress on him and his family, they had to make the decision to have him undergo a surgery procedure that had never been done on a child before. Despite the risk of not being able to play the sport he loved ever again, it was necessary to put his life and well-being first. Thankfully, he came out on the other side with the ability to play sports still intact and resumed activities the following season. Below is an excerpt from a great article that goes in-depth on Malinoski's recovery and the painstaking process that led him back to the ice, with his mother Tanya recalling the events leading up to the surgery.

“Dr. [Mike] Kelly knew how much hockey and sports meant to Hudson and was on the phone the entire night before the surgery, with his mentor in New York, trying to come up with an alternate surgery,” noted Tanya. In the end, Dr. Kelly decided to perform a surgery that “hadn’t been done on a kid.” He would clamp the artery closed and re-route the blood flow so Hudson would only have one vertebral artery. It was a three-hour, scary surgery with a lot of important doctors involved,” recalled Tanya, adding that the surgery went well but they had to wait months to make sure everything healed and the blood was flowing properly."

You also can read The Leafs Nation's piece on Malinoski from our 2023 Prospect Rankings <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/tlns-2023-offseason-leafs-prospect-rankings-19-hudson-malinoski">here.</a>

By the time Malinoski returned to action, he had gotten a full season playing AA before his AAA season was shut down early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All of this is to say that Malinoski's development is technically one year behind where other players his age are at this point. He didn't play another full season until 2021-22, but his talents began to shine through after joining the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) for his second year of draft eligibility, tallying 69 points in 44 games when the Maple Leaf selected him 153rd overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. He committed to Providence College of the NCAA and had a respectable freshman year, recording 18 points in 35 games, and he seems to have taken a step forward in his sophomore year, with five points in five games on the season to start.

https://twitter.com/Kyle_Cush/status/1850575018788262067

If I had to offer an under-the-radar prospect to keep an eye on as he progresses, Malinoski is the one to come to mind without question. His injury and proceeding surgery as a 13-year-old has him a couple of steps behind the rest of the players his age who have been drafted, but if anything, that just makes him a more intriguing piece and potentially somebody who can take teams by surprise if his development continues without any obstacles. There's a real late-bloomer vibe around this kid.

Notes from the rest of the prospect pool:
<ul>
 	<li>Easton Cowan extended his regular-season point streak to 44 games this week, but who's counting? Well, the London Knights are. Cowan is up to six goals and ten points in eight games on the young OHL season including a secondary assist on the goal below and an empty-net goal later in the game.</li>
</ul>
https://twitter.com/LondonKnights/status/1850608493528531324
<ul>
 	<li>Everybody's new favourite prospect Nikita Grebenkin is off to a good start in his American Hockey League (AHL) rookie season, scoring his second goal of the season in Friday night's 4-3 win over the Belleville Senators. The Marlies' perfect start to the season was halted by the Senators on Saturday night with a 2-1 shootout loss, but they remain at the top of the North Division and second in the Eastern Conference after seven games with a record of 6-0-1. Grebenkin was a favourite of Craig Berube's in training camp and will surely be one of the top call-up candidates if he keeps his production near this level.</li>
 	<li>Speaking of AHL players who are off to strong starts, look no further than goaltender Artur Akhtyamov. The Maple Leafs' goaltending depth was a talking point for much of the start of the season (although it's fizzled a bit with their latest three-game losing streak), but beyond Anthony Stolarz, Joseph Woll, Dennis Hildeby, and Matt Murray, Akhtyamov is 4-0-0 in his first four games with the Marlies complemented by a 1.47 goals-against average (GAA) and a .941 save percentage (SV%) to start the year. It will be interesting to see how Marlies head coach John Gruden mixes in starts for veteran Matt Murray with a couple of promising prospects in Akhtyamov and Hildeby needing semi-regular playing time.</li>
 	<li>2024 seventh-round pick Sam McCue is off to a strong start with the OHL's Peterborough Petes with five goals and ten points in 11 games to start the OHL season. The brother of former London Knight and San Jose Sharks prospect Max McCue is an intriguing overage prospect who was covered by TLN's Steven Ellis as a potential <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/sam-mccue-could-be-another-late-round-steal-for-the-toronto-maple-leafs">late-round gem</a>.</li>
</ul>
https://twitter.com/brigstew86/status/1850701976205435352
<ul>
 	<li>Speaking of junior players off to strong starts, 2024 fifth-round pick Miroslav Holinka is fitting in nicely with the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Edmonton Oil Kings. It's the Czechia native's first season overseas in his young career and he scored a goal this week to give him seven points in nine games on the season so far.</li>
 	<li>Sticking in the WHL, quick-rising defensive prospect Noah Chadwick continued his strong start to the season by adding a pair of assists in Saturday's win over the Red Deer Rebels. He's up to eight points in nine games in his first season as captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and he doesn't appear to be interested in anything but playing for the Marlies next season.</li>
 	<li>It can't all be sunshine and rainbows to start the year. 2024 first-round pick Ben Danford is off to a slow start with the OHL's Oshawa Generals, with only three assists in 11 games to start the season. Danford was forced to miss the entirety of preseason after he was the victim of some friendly fire in development camp, taking a hit from camp invite Marshall Finnie that resulted in a concussion. It's a long season, but certainly not the start offensively he was hoping for.</li>
 	<li>We'll finish off on a positive note. 2024 fourth-round pick Victor Johansson has taken a giant step forward in Sweden's junior leagues. The 6-foot-1 defender has 14 points in 17 games for Leksands IF's junior team to start the season and is primed for a look with the big club sooner rather than later.</li>
</ul>
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-111196" src="https://publish.theleafsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2099/08/PRIMN_24_HED_727x404_POST_Final_en-CA_GSS00011213.jpg" alt="" width="795" height="404" />

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