Beck Malenstyn

Playing career

Beck Malenstyn grew up in British Columbia and spent three years with the Okanagan Hockey Academy, playing for both their OHA Bantam Prep and OHA Midget Prep teams. As captain, he led his team with 119 points—including a team-best 62 goals—and racked up 108 penalty minutes over 57 games. That performance earned him a first-round selection, 18th overall, by the Calgary Hitmen in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft. He stayed with Okanagan for the 2013–14 season, helping them win the Canadian Sport School Hockey League Midget Prep Division title with 26 points in 21 games.

Malenstyn joined the Hitmen as a 16-year-old rookie for the 2014–15 season. He played 11 games, scoring two goals, before being picked for Team Canada at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. After returning to the Hitmen, he put up eight goals and four assists in 51 games. Before his sophomore year, he and teammate Jake Bean were chosen for Team Canada at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. Malenstyn recorded three points in five games, including a goal in Canada’s 7-3 win over Sweden that secured a gold medal. Back with the Hitmen for the 2015–16 season, he was named to the NHL’s Players to Watch list in November ahead of the 2016 NHL Draft. By January 2016, he was ranked 124th among North American skaters after notching 20 points in 44 games. He also made Canada’s under-18 team pre-competition roster for the 2016 IIHF World U18 Championships. He finished his sophomore season with 25 points in 70 games and received the team’s Chrysler Canada Inc. Scholastic Player Award.

In the 2016 offseason, the Washington Capitals drafted Malenstyn 145th overall. He attended their training camp but was released and returned to the Hitmen for the 2016–17 season. In November 2017, he and team captain Matteo Gennaro were traded to the Swift Current Broncos in exchange for three players, the rights to two others, and a second-round pick. With the Broncos, Malenstyn won the 2018 WHL Championship. On November 20, 2019, he was called up from the Hershey Bears to the Capitals and made his NHL debut that night against the New York Rangers.