Penguins forward Filip Hallander makes season debut

Filip Hallander got what he wanted, for one night at least.

More than four years after he proclaimed, with bravado, he was approaching the Pittsburgh Penguins’ training camp to “take a spot” on the roster as a promising-but-raw prospect, he got a spot in the team’s lineup for its home opener Thursday against the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena.

He opened the contest on the right wing of the third line with Tommy Novak on the left wing and rookie Ben Kindel at center. Hallander was a healthy scratch for Tuesday’s season opener, a 3-0 road win against the New York Rangers.

Hallander replaced Philip Tomasino in the lineup on Thursday.

“I think it went good in the preseason,” Hallander said after an optional morning skate Thursday in Cranberry. “Just trying to keep being in good shape and ready when the opportunity comes.”

Hallander, 25, enjoyed a productive preseason, posting five points (one goal, four assists) in five games, tied for second most on the team.

(Oddly, he was tied with Tomasino, who generated two goals and three assists over five contests.)

Hallander downplayed the volume of his preseason offense but was sated by his overall play.

“The production, I don’t look at that much,” Hallander said. “I think a lot of the points were just a little bit random, I would say. Sometimes, they just bounce your way, and you just get a (secondary assist) or something like that. But overall, the games I played went better and better from the start. The (first two) games were OK. Then after (a 3-2 home win against the Detroit Red Wings on Sept. 26), I think I stepped up a little bit and played better.

“As the camp went on, I just felt better and better. That’s more of what I’m looking for. I just want to play on the team in any kind of role that’s possible for me. I’m trying to be as versatile as possible.”

Hallander’s journey with the Penguins hasn’t been linear. After the club selected him in the second round (No. 58 overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft, he was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a multi-player trade that brought forward Kasperi Kapanen (back) to Pittsburgh in August 2020.

Less than a year later, he was shipped back to the Penguins in a deal that sent forward Jared McCann to the Maple Leafs in July 2021. That transaction largely was motivated by the prospect of losing McCann in the expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken.

(The Maple Leafs wound up losing McCann to the Kraken in that draft.)

After playing in all of three NHL games with the Penguins between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, Hallander became a restricted free agent with regard to his NHL status and returned to his homeland, signing with Timra IK of the Swedish Hockey League.

Rarely a productive offensive entity at any level, Hallander erupted last season. Playing for coach Olli Jokinen, a former NHL All-Star forward, Hallander finished second in the SHL with 53 points (26 goals, 27 assists) in 51 games.

Mål nummer 21 av Filip Hållander för säsongen som därmed tangerar Mika Pyröäläs föreningens målrekord i högsta serien #timraik pic.twitter.com/QT84Rw77oG

— Timrå IK (@timra_ik) February 20, 2025

This past summer, he again returned to the Penguins, who still had his NHL rights and signed him a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000.

“I became a better hockey player when I went back to Sweden,” Hallander said. “I felt like I maybe belonged more in this camp than the last two camps I was here. Those (previous) camps were about learning, and this (camp) was more about taking a spot on the team. That was maybe a bit of a mindset this time around compared to the last two.

“And as camp went on, I felt that I had a good chance to make the roster. It went good this time.”

His adjustment was evident to Muse.

“He got more and more comfortable,” Muse said of Hallander’s preseason. “If you look at the later exhibition games that he was in, I feel like he was really at the point where he was starting to play his game. There’s an adjustment coming back over here. The game is a little bit different. Obviously, he’s been over here, he’s played in North America before. But he’s also coming from Sweden (where) it’s just a little bit of a different game. The rinks sometimes are bigger. You can kind of slow things down with a possession game.

“It was solid at the beginning, but I thought it got a lot better there at the end of training camp.”

It remains to be seen what Hallander’s ceiling truly can be as an NHLer. When he was drafted and skating for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League, he commonly was projected as potentially becoming a sturdy defensive bottom-six winger and penalty killer. But after a considerable jump in his offensive game last season, it’s fair to wonder if he can be even more than that.

“I can play on the (penalty kill),” Hallander said. “Maybe not have the same point production as I had back in Sweden. But I think I found a scoring touch a little bit when I went there. That helped with the confidence. I can use my skating wherever I play. Be strong on the forecheck. I have that offensive touch that I can help.

“It’s, obviously, hard to say. But, as I said, the more you can do, the easier it is to play, to get minutes. That’s what I’m striving for first.”