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 here.

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.

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.

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