Known as "Shorty", he was on the team which won a gold medal at the 1951 World Ice Hockey Championships in Paris, France.

The defenceman from Lethbridge started playing with the Lethbridge Maple Leafs in 1950 in a season which culminated with his team representing Canada and winning the gold medal at the World Amateur Hockey Championships in Paris, France in 1951, and where years later this team was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1974.

The Maple Leafs went on that same year to win gold at the Sir Winston Churchill Cup Competition, in London, England.

Malacko stayed in Europe after that big win, playing with the Harringay Racers in England and moving to Germany a year later to help that nation with its Olympic program for the 1952 Winter Games in Oslo.

A year later, Malacko returned to Canada, married, and settled in Nelson, where he went on to play senior hockey for 12 years with the Nelson Maple Leafs, including 1964-1965 season when their team made it to the Allan Cup finals before losing to the champion Sherbrooke Beavers.