Dean Malkoc

Defenseman Dean Malkoc played with three NHL teams in the 90s. He was a bruising hitter who could also move the puck up to his forwards efficiently. He entered the 2001-02 having played three consecutive years in the minors.

Born in Vancouver, BC, Malkoc played with Williams Lake in the PCJHL and Powell River of the BCJHL. The New Jersey Devils took him 95th overall in 1989-90 after registering 21 points and 209 penalty minutes on the WHL's Kamloops Blazers. He returned to junior and played with Kamloops and the Swift Current Broncos before spending his first three seasons with the Utica Devils and Albany River Rats of the AHL

In January, 1995, the Devils sent Malkoc to the Chicago Black Hawks but he spent all of is time with the Indianapolis Ice of the IHL. In the off-season he signed as a free agent with the Vancouver Canucks and played 41 games as an NHL rookie in 1995-96. By the start of the next season he no longer fit into the club's plans and the Boston Bruins picked him up on waivers.

Malkoc spent two years as a solid utility player in Beantown before signing with the New York Islanders as a free agent in August 1998. His tenure on Long Island consisted of two NHL games and 61 contests in the AHL. In October, 199 he was traded to Anaheim but toiled exclusively on the club's farm teams through the 2000-01 season.