Freshman Friday is a Q-and-A feature with new members of the men's hockey team. This is the first of nine installments this year, featuring defenseman Sam Malinski.

Q: Now that you've had a couple months to settle in, how do you like Cornell and the area so far?
A: It's a lot of fun. All the guys are cool, the hockey's been good. A little has changed but the school and the campus is awesome, classes have been tough but seem manageable.

Q: You're in the College of Arts & Sciences and have declared economics as your major. Has that always been the path you have envisioned for yourself?
A: No, I don't really know what I want to do yet. I'm thinking somewhere along the line of business, so economics is kind of in there. Since I don't know what I'm going to do yet, economics is a broad place to start.

Q: Not too far away from your dad's profession in real estate. But I think I always he's a bit of a wine connoisseur, is that right?
A: My grandparents own a vineyard in Argentina, so my dad is kind of a distributor. But he works with his own business in real estate.

Q: Is it a vineyard that just sells their grapes to other winemakers, or do they do make their own wine?
A: They make their own wine, too.

Q: And here you are in your own prominent wine area now. But you're originally from Lakeville, Minnesota – just south of the Twin Cities. Were you born and raised there?
A: Yep.

Q: Might seem redundant, but how did you get your start in hockey?
A: I guess my dad played a little bit as a kid, so he just taught me to skate when I was like 2 or 3. I like the game, but I didn't love it until like my junior year of high school. Then opportunities started coming, and I started to love the game more and more.

Q: So through the youth levels like squirt and peewee, you didn't really take it seriously?
A: Yeah, I never really thought about playing college hockey. I just kind of had fun with it and whatever happened with it happened. But then I put in a little bit of time into it. I worked out and skated in the summer, but really not too much extra.

Q: What were your interests at that point?
A: I played football as well, all the way thorough my sophomore year of high school. Then I quit football so I could focus on hockey. Other than that, I golfed a lot during the summers. Still do a little bit, but that's pretty much it.

Q: What changed during your junior year of high school? Was it just as simple as you were starting to get tabbed as pretty good and a next-level guy, or was there something that switched in your head?
A: I kind of saw other people going on to higher levels of hockey, and I kind of saw that there were some opportunities and potential in my game. Then I had a pretty big year my junior year and had some opportunities come along, and my senior year was even better.

Q: You weren't drafted into the USHL or NAHL, so what were the opportunities you mentioned?
A: I wasn't drafted, but I had talked to a few USHL teams after my senior year and a good amount of NAHL teams during my senior year. I signed a tender with (the NAHL team in) Bismarck, which I later played in. But then I went to (the USHL's) Cedar Rapids mini-camp, and I made that team as a free agent. I stuck around there for a while and then around, just after Christmas break, I ended up going back to Bismarck.

Q: Is it unusual to make a USHL camp as a free agent like that?
A: Yeah, most players are drafted or tendered that end up playing for them. But honestly, I don't know. I don't think there are that many free agents that end up doing that.

Q: So then you move on to Bismarck, where you're there for a year and a half. There are a handful of NAHL teams that would have been closer to home for you, so why did you sign there?
A: I went out for a visit to check out the facilities, meet the coach, kind of see what the town is like and go to a game. I liked the coaches a lot, and that was pretty much the main reason. It seemed like there was a lot of opportunity, which is important in juniors, because you want to get playing time. But besides that, it just kind of seemed like a no-brainer decision. I was comfortable moving far away from home – it was about a six-hour drive, and my mom was even comfortable with it – and that's when it seemed like it was right.

Q: You have a decent half season there, but now the clock is ticking a bit. You're 20 years old – which means you have one more year – and the NAHL is a quality league, but it's not the top tier in juniors. When you head back to Bismarck, did any self doubt start creeping in? Or were you still confident something is going to work out for you?
A: I was actually pretty confident in myself. I didn't put up great numbers my first half in Bismarck, but I was learning new systems and stuff. I felt like I was playing really well, especially my last 10 games or so there. Honestly, you don't want to look too far out and get discouraged by the fact that you're not committed. But I just tried to stay positive and kept working hard, and I had a lot of people who believed in me.

Q: When did schools enter the fray?
A: I talked to a good amount right after the NAHL Showcase (in September) the next year, but I had also talked to a couple my first year in juniors. Plus there was one I was talking to throughout high school. I just wanted to wait and see what else would come. Eventually, Cornell came along, and that seemed like a no-brainer.

Q: In the second year, things really start to click. The numbers are piling up; you're named a league all-star, etc. What felt different for you?
A: I think that I had good summer training and felt really prepared coming into the season. I didn't have to learn any new systems, for the most part, and I was pretty comfortable with the city. I had the same billet family, so I was comfortable in Bismarck. On top of that, I had a lot of confidence going in, and the coaches and my teammates believed in me as well.

Q: You committed to Cornell in December. Who did you speak with, and how long was the grace period before you decided it was a great opportunity?
A: I talked to (assistant coach Sean Flanagan) originally, and he came out to one of my games in Aberdeen (S.D). Then I talked to him after that, and we stayed in touch for a couple of weeks. Then an offer came along, and that's about it.

Q: So you didn't get a chance to visit campus or anything like that?
A: No. I was going to try to come up during my season, but there was no time. We had games every week, and then they were busy during their season. So I came up right after my season ended, and there were some of the guys here that kind of showed me around campus. But I was committed at that point already.

Q: You describe it as a no-brainer, but it's a little bit more than a six-hour drive at this point. It seems like kind of a leap of faith. So why was it such a no-brainer?
A: You look at just how this school was known for being so prestigious, and I was already comfortable with the coaching staff from the multiple phone calls I had with them. Then you see the atmosphere of this place. You see it on YouTube, and it's pretty crazy. Another thing is the culture and tradition, and it's something that seems pretty cool. It's different from other schools.

Q: Fans obviously haven't had a chance to see you play yet. So how would you describe yourself as a player?
A: I'm a little bit undersized, but I think I'm a pretty good skater and good on my feet. I make a lot plays with my stick and am able to get up ice and join the rush as a fourth forward to create some offense from the back end.

Q: Anyone you kind of model your game after?
A: That's a good question. Maybe, say, like an Erik Karlsson or a Miro Heiskanen. I don't know …

Q: You have to be a Minnesota Wild guy, right?
A: I am a Wild guy, so you could say Jared Spurgeon. That's a good answer, actually.

Q: So do you watch him and think, 'I can incorporate that into my game'?
A: I actually have done that at times, because he's a little bit more undersized than I am. But you can see the way that he takes advantage of it to defend and keep guys to the outside, even though he's not able to push them around all that much.

Q: It's the new style of defense …
A: Yeah, it is. And he's able to create a lot of offense, too.

Q: Is that something that the coaches talk to you about with your game?
A: They know my game, and they know that it can fit in here somewhere.