Brad Malone’s very first professional hockey game came in the Calder Cup Playoffs on April 16, 2011. Game 1 of the American Hockey League (AHL) North Division Semi-Finals. Lake Erie Monsters vs. Manitoba Moose. He had an assist and two penalty minutes.
His very last professional hockey game came in the Calder Cup Playoffs on April 27, 2024. Game 2 of the AHL Pacific Division First Round. Bakersfield Condors vs. Ontario Reign. He had an assist and two penalty minutes.
In the 4,760 days between, he played hundreds of games while suiting up for seven different teams, ultimately becoming something of a legend with one.
Malone’s career came to a close last weekend when the Bakersfield Condors were eliminated from the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 loss to the Reign in Game 2 of their best-of-three series at Mechanics Bank Arena. The veteran forward, who turns 35 on May 20, had previously announced he would retire following the conclusion of the playoffs.
Malone has been a member of the Condors since 2017, becoming Bakersfield’s all-time AHL regular season leader with 316 games played. He is the longest-serving captain in team history, having worn the ‘C’ since 2020.
Malone was recalled by Edmonton a handful of times over the last several years, appearing in a total of 41 regular season games and two playoff contests with the Oilers. While he was never around for long in Edmonton, he spent enough time with the team for fans to understand why he’s so revered in Bakersfield.
Malone Bounces Around the NHL
Malone was drafted 105th overall in the 2007 NHL Draft by the Colorado Avalanche. He wouldn’t make his pro debut for nearly four years, after finishing his senior season at the University of North Dakota.
The product of Miramichi, N.B., was in the Avalanche organization for the next three seasons, suiting up for Colorado 54 times in the NHL regular season and playing 165 games with Lake Eerie of the AHL.
After becoming a free agent following the 2013-14 season, Malone signed a two-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. He spent the entirety of the next two seasons in the NHL, playing a total of 122 games with the Canes.
Malone agreed to a one-year, two-way deal with the Washington Capitals in the summer of 2016, but he would never play a game with them. For the first few months of the season, he toiled away with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, before being dealt to the St. Louis Blues just prior…
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