“Everything happened so fast” – Nick Malik joins Tampa Bay Lightning prospects after 20-hour trip
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Nick Malik
Finnish ice hockey goalie Nick Malik was probably the last to know about his selection by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fifth round (No. 160) of the 2022 NHL Draft. Following this bizarre moment, the 20-year-old was quick to travel from Finland to Florida for the Lightning’s development camp — a trip that took more than 20 hours.
The 6-foot-1, 177 pounds Malik was 15-9-9 with a 1.97 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and four shutouts in 34 games last season for KooKoo of Liiga, the top professional hockey league in Finland. The youngster was 7-7 with a 2.14 GAA, .926 save percentage and two shutouts in the playoffs, helping his side advance to the semi-finals.
“When I got drafted, I was in bed,” Malik said, as quoted by NHL.com. “I didn’t watch the draft to be honest because I didn’t want to be sad if I wasn’t picked. My mom watched and my friends … so I got the word pretty quickly.”
“Everything happened so fast,” he said. “I was drafted and then I was on a plane and now I am here.”
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“Pretty exciting to be here and everyone has been great”
For those who don’t know, Malik is the son of Marek Malik, a former defenseman in the National Hockey League who played as many as 691 games over 15 seasons from 1994-2009 with the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and Lightning.
“I remember being here before and riding around on scooters with my brother,” Malik said. “We would ride to a park with basketball courts and play basketball. A lot of things have changed. The Lightning have this nice practice facility now and I don’t remember them having a practice rink when I was here before.
“It’s pretty exciting to be here and everyone from the guys to the coaches and the staff has been great.”
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Sachin Arora
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