In his original draft write-up at EliteProspects, they had this to say:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it comes to all the little technical areas that a goaltender can work on, Malik has very little to worry about. His skating and his speed are above average, both in the Czech Republic and in North America, and he\u2019s got active hands that he isn\u2019t afraid to use.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally passed on twice, Malik was eventually selected as a 20-year-old overager, already established as a starting goaltender in Finland\u2019s top professional league (Liiga). That season with KooKoo, he posted a 15-9-9 record alongside a 1.97 goals-against average, a .922 save percentage, and four shutouts in 34 games. He followed that up with a strong playoff performance, going 7-7 with a 2.14 GAA and .926 save percentage, helping KooKoo advance to the semifinals.<\/p>\n
At the time, it looked like a smart bet on a late-blooming goaltender trending in the right direction. Now a drafted prospect, Malik returned to Finland, where his numbers unfortunately regressed. He posted back-to-back sub-.900 save percentage seasons, ultimately leading to an exit from the Liiga ranks, and Tampa Bay opting not to sign him to an Entry-Level contract.<\/p>\n
Now 23, Malik has re-established himself in Czechia and two seasons into his tenure, he has been one of the Extraliga\u2019s top netminders. He\u2019s posted a combined 45-31-0 record while maintaining back-to-back seasons above a .925 save percentage.<\/p>\n
His best season was his most recent (2025-26), in which Malik led the league with a 1.65 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage, earning top honours in both categories while backstopping Plze\u0148 to a second-place finish and a bye to the quarterfinals. Although the series did not go his way due to limited goal support, his underlying performance held. He posted a 1.97 GAA and .922 save percentage in a seven-game series loss.<\/p>\n
At 6-foot-3 with pro experience across multiple European leagues, Malik offers a combination of size and renewed form that makes him a worthwhile gamble. He recently signed a two-year extension with Plze\u0148, but that doesn\u2019t rule out a move to North America. European contracts often include NHL out-clauses or flexibility for loan agreements, meaning a team could bring him over on an AHL deal to evaluate his game in a North American environment.<\/p>\n
For teams looking to add goaltending depth with some upside, Malik represents a classic low-risk, high-reward option.<\/p>\n
Other European free agent targetsThe Nation Playoff Draft Party \u2014 Team Sign-Up Now Open![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776039791_381_image.webp\"\/)
<\/a>Edmonton hockey fans \u2014 think you and your crew know playoff hockey? Prove it at the\u00a0Nation Playoff Draft Party\u00a0on\u00a0Friday, April 17th at the River Cree Resort & Casino.\u00a0Build your playoff roster, compete against other teams throughout the postseason, and battle for\u00a0$2,500 cash and Nation bragging rights.\u00a0Team entry is\u00a0$1,000 for groups of 8, which includes dinner and your first bevy. The night will be hosted by\u00a0Ryder & Lisa from The Sauce\u00a0and\u00a0Tyler & Liam from ON Everyday, so expect plenty of energy, competition, and chirps.\u00a0Spots are limited \u2014 sign your team up now at\u00a0nationgear.ca<\/a>.\u00a0All proceeds from the event support\u00a0KidSport Edmonton, helping ensure local kids can stay in the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oilers European free agent targets: Nick Malik showing promise as one of Czechia\u2019s top goaltenders We\u2019ve already covered…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":600142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-600141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}