Prospect Info: 2022 160th Overall Pick | G Nick Malik

[TheDaysOf 04]

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[MarkusKetterer]

Good pick. He had a great season in Finland. I wanted him last year with a 7th, and had the same opinion this year. It was close enough

 

[Thechozen1]

Solid selection! To the Lightning staff and the selections they’ve made.

 

[SharksAttack]

Good goalie. Marek Malik's son.

 

[Brock]

Really impressed with the steps forward Malik has taken in his career and I think this is a savvy selection.

For perspective:

Our write up for him this year:
McKeen's 2022 NHL Draft Guide - The road back to relevance for Malik has been long and winding. The son of former NHL defender Marek Malik, Nick was once a highly thought of prospect. However, he struggled mightily in his NHL draft year, including a stop with the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL. Fighting through injuries and inconsistency, Malik had a remarkable season in Liiga with KooKoo (including a terrific playoffs) and it has him back on the map as a draft prospect. Not only did he finish top five in save percentage, but his performance as a U20 player compares favorably with the likes of other top goaltending prospects in recent years like Juuse Saros, Ville Husso, and Lukas Dostal. Always a terrific athlete, Malik has worked hard to improve the technical components of his game. His pushes are more controlled, and he is covering his angles more consistently. There are still some scrambling tendencies to his game, but he is doing a better job of tracking pucks through traffic and staying up when he needs to. Is that enough for him to finally have his name called? We think so. - BO

Our write up on him in his OG draft year:
MCKEEN'S 2020 NHL DRAFT GUIDE - This 6-2” netminder came into the year as one of the top goaltenders available, but his performance left a lot to be desired. The son of former NHL defender Marek Malik, Nick split the year between the Czech league and the Soo Greyhounds in the OHL. With the Greyhounds, his performance was better than the stat line indicates (.886 SV%). The issues with Malik’s game are technical in nature. He can get caught too deep in his net and scrambles to make saves, getting well out of position. However, the tools are there (athletic, good anticipation) and he flashes the ability to be a high-end netminder if he settles down. He closely resembles current NHL netminder Petr Mrazek as a draft eligible player.