‘World needs more Beck Malenstyns’ | Sabres winger strives to grow the game, for everyone

By now, Buffalo is well acquainted with Beck Malenstyn, the player.

He set a Sabres single-season record with 282 hits last season. He’s the NHL’s fastest skater on record, clocking speeds up to 24.94 mph. He’s got some sneaky skill, scoring some of the nicest goals in the league a year ago. He’s a fixture on the fourth line, a trusted penalty killer, an occasional fighter and a sure bet to bring the energy every night from October through the playoffs.

But with Malenstyn now here for the long haul, having signed a six-year contract that runs through the 2031-32 season, it’s time Buffalo gets to know the Beck behind all those body checks, speed bursts and breakaways.

“He’s a hell of a guy. Not a mean bone in his body,” said Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin. “He’s just an unbelievable dude.”

Malenstyn’s character shows in his involvement with the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, where he’s one of 18 on a roster of current and former NHL and pro women’s hockey players. Launched in 2023 and co-chaired by players-turned-broadcasters P.K. Subban and Anson Carter, the Coalition aims to improve access, inclusion and diversity in hockey around North America – to “accelerate social change through and within hockey,” as put in its mission statement.

Early last season, the Coalition reached out to Rich Jureller, the Sabres’ vice president of community relations, to gauge Malenstyn’s interest. Malenstyn’s response? An easy yes.

“I just viewed it as a great opportunity to utilize the platform that we have to give back to different communities and try to connect them with our game,” the 28-year-old told Sabres.com.

“It’s been such a privilege to play it growing up – and at such a high level now – that I think any opportunity that I had to give back was something I always try to do.”

‘Whatever that kid needed’

So far, Malenstyn’s main endeavor through the Coalition has been his summer volunteering with HEROS Hockey.

Since 2000, HEROS has hosted free hockey programming for tens of thousands of children in cities across Canada – kids with social or financial barriers, or disabilities, that might otherwise prevent them from trying the sport.

“All of our kids are vulnerable, all of our kids – I hate to say it – have been told or made to feel like there’s not a place for them in hockey,” explained HEROS executive director Kevin Hodgson. “So, if the conventional system doesn’t have a place for them, then somebody’s got to create a space for them, and that’s what we try to do. Hockey is the hook to give them the opportunity to be mentored by really great people.

“We’re not looking to produce Beck Malenstyn’s linemate, but we’re looking to produce people of Beck Malenstyn’s character.”

In August, Malenstyn, a Vancouver-area native, ferried a group of HEROS kids across the strait from Victoria to mainland Vancouver. It marked the first-ever visit to the big city for many. There, the Sabres forward ran a hockey clinic before bringing them to lunch at Barnside Brewing Co., a restaurant co-owned and run by his dad, Ken Malenstyn.

Hodgson had high expectations; Malenstyn exceeded them. Tying kids’ skates. Remembering names. Making time to chat with each of them. Overall, just being a friend and ensuring the kids enjoyed their day of hockey. “Best Day with Beck,” HEROS branded it.

“Some kids, he might’ve been showing them how to shoot the puck harder, and then another kid, he might’ve been talking about dogs,” Hodgson said. “Whatever that kid needed from him, he was willing to provide it.”

 “You see the joy that it can bring them,” added Malenstyn, who has two young sons with his wife, Annie. “The questions you get, the excitement they have, I think it brings the game down to its purest form of just having so much fun with it.”

When he joined the Player Inclusion Coalition, Malenstyn was intentional about understanding its mission, not just going through the motions of community service. Other Coalition members, many of whom have faced challenges as Black or Indigenous hockey players, helped Malenstyn get on board.

So, too, did childhood memories of his family hosting billet guests – teenagers playing for the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants. A bit of time with pro (or possibly pro-bound) players can stick with a kid, so Malenstyn knows the power of reciprocating that. And while HEROS doesn’t expect to develop NHLers, like Hodgson said, it does share the Coalition’s goal of a more inclusive sport.

“That feeling when you walk into a locker room and you can just completely, wholeheartedly be yourself makes it so enjoyable,” Malenstyn said. “To feel like you’re a shell of yourself, or that you can’t open up that way, really takes away the overall reason that we play the game."

‘World needs more Beck Malenstyns’

Hodgson was the billet dad for Calgary Hitmen forward Jakob Stukel when he first met Malenstyn. Stukel (who nows plays professionally in Switzerland) kept bringing his friend, Beck, around the house, sometimes for dinner, and Hodgson was thoroughly impressed with the 17-year-old future Sabre. Malenstyn also made a volunteering cameo at a HEROS event back then.

Two seasons and change with the Hitmen helped Malenstyn on his path to becoming a fifth-round pick by the Capitals in 2016. But even then, he already had the off-the-ice stuff figured out.

“The man he is now is the kid he was at 17,” Hodgson said. “You knew that he didn’t need hockey to pan out for him to be successful in life, because he’s got all the attributes you want in a young person.”

“Just a high-character, high-class, high-quality young man. World needs more Beck Malenstyns, there’s no doubt about it.”

Well, Hodgson can think of two changes over these last 11 years:

“He just can grow a better playoff beard now. … And he can afford a little nicer pickup truck.”

‘We’re very, very fortunate’

As Malenstyn approached his first unrestricted free agency this summer, he made clear that he hoped to stay in Buffalo. General manager Jarmo Kekäläinen expressed similar confidence that they’d get a deal done. And on June 29, a six-year contract with an AAV of $2.9167 million locked Malenstyn in as a core piece of these Sabres.

“They had a lot of decisions to make with a lot of different guys,” Malenstyn said, “but I felt the respect and the value in me from this organization. … Across the board, after last year, seeing the energy of this city, what that feels like playing hockey here at that level in the playoffs, it was contagious.

“It was something that you’d be crazy to not want to be a part of.”

That energy took on a Malenstyn-specific flavor as the year progressed, particularly in KeyBank Center’s 300 level. Fans made and posted signs celebrating the fourth liner, with nicknames including “Malen-G.O.A.T.”, “Malen-town”, “Malen-king”, etc. – yes, he was aware of some of them. Just as the hard-hitting forward has made himself a role model for kids in British Columbia, he’s becoming one here in Buffalo, too.

“Parents can go buy a Malenstyn jersey, if that’s who their kid’s favorite player is, and feel really good about that kid wearing a No. 29," Hodgson said.

Malenstyn found it tough to really get involved off the ice when he broke into the league with Washington a few years ago – hockey itself was enough of a challenge. Even last season, he was hesitant to commit to anything with the contract uncertainty. But with that now settled, he and Annie intend to put their platform to use, hopefully launching some sort of foundation or charity in the Buffalo area.

“We’re very, very fortunate to have been invited to be a part of something like the Coalition, and then also have the support through the team here to be as active as we want to in the community,” Malenstyn said. “It’s something I just want to take full advantage of.”