Avalanche's Sam Malinski returns home for playoff series against Wild

The Colorado Avalanche's Sam Malinski is returning to Minnesota for a playoff game against his hometown team.

The family is preparing for his homecoming.

"As it got closer, we got nervous and started thinking, 'Wow, everybody that we know, everybody they grew up playing with, they're gonna be watching him,'"Gabe Malinski said on Wednesday, ahead of his younger brother Sam Malinski's playoff return to Minnesota.

Sam Malinski is amid one of the most exhilarating times of his life. A defenseman for the Avalanche, 27-year-old Sam Malinski scored his first career playoff goal in Game 1 against the Wild.  

"It was a good way to get it going again and I'm sure my family is really excited, so it was exciting for all of us," he said after the game.

The Malinskis grew up in Lakeville, played for Lakeville South High School and Sam Malinski went to state in 2017. 

But the hockey journey has been hard. He was cut from multiple junior teams and wasn't supposed to play much in college at Cornell, but did. He has turned an undrafted free agency signing back in 2023 into a newly inked four-year contract. 

"One of the most special things we've experienced as a family," said Gabe Malinski. "To grow up as Wild fans, to see Sam end up in Colorado, where we have other family members. And now to see those teams going head-to-head, it's certainly nerve-racking, but it's so exciting and something that Sam has every bit of attention and recognition that he's finally getting. We're hoping for a good game. We don't want a blowout on either side of it. So yeah, hoping we can enjoy the experience in Game 3."