Cornell men’s hockey junior Sam Malinski has been named a finalist for ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman honors, the league announced Tuesday afternoon.
Malinski has been among the Big Red’s leaders in ice time this season, leading the group with a plus-13 rating. While his offensive production has been a piece of that puzzle – is 17 points in 22 league games ranks second among all blueliners – he is also a primary penalty killer and leads the team with 37 blocked shots in all 29 of the team’s games this season.
For the first time in program history, Cornell has laid claim to Best Defensive Defenseman in each of its last three seasons, courtesy of Alec McCrea ’19 (in 2018), Matt Nuttle ’19 (in 2019) and Alex Green ’21 (in 2020).
Other finalists for this year’s ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman are Quinnipiac’s Zach Metsa and Harvard’s Henry Thrun. The winner is scheduled to be announced Saturday, March 12.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].