It has certainly been a long time coming, as Hallander was originally selected by Pittsburgh in the second round (58th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft. He was actually traded to Toronto, where Kyle Dubas was GM at the time, in 2020. The following summer, Pittsburgh reacquired Hallander.
He spent two seasons in North America from 2021-23, making his NHL debut on April 7, 2022 against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Hallander appeared in two more games with Pittsburgh the following season, but spent the majority of his time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Hallander then decided to return home to Sweden for family reasons.
“I think just having a tough time off the ice with my family, just finding some stability,” Hallander said. “We had our second child right after we went back. So, just getting home (to) be around family, friends again. It was just tough with covid, coming over that time. I think that worked out good, those two years back home. And now, we all feel very excited to be back.”
Coming into training camp, Hallander was coming off of a strong season with Timra IK of the Swedish Hockey League, establishing career highs in goals (26), assists (27) and points (53).
His 26 goals and 53 points both ranked second in the entire SHL, while his 27 assists were tied for 10thmost in the league. Hallander’s 53 points were also a Timra IK single-season franchise record, surpassing Henrik Zetterberg’s record of 50 points during his age 24 season in 2004-05.
“I think that I kind of grew as the first season went on, and then just took that with me until last season,” Hallander said. “Had a good coach in Olli Jokinen that really believed in me. Played big minutes, a lot of leadership on me, a lot of pressure, but it was a good time to grow both on and off the ice as a person. So, it was nothing really more than confidence, I would say.”
While there have been a lot of new additions to the organization since Hallander’s first stint, a few familiar faces remain. Including Rakell, who was complimentary of Hallander’s growth and development earlier in training camp.
“He looks strong. He looks fast. Really good on the forecheck drills,” Rakell said. “So, really surprised and excited for him… He was playing with us up here for a few games two years ago. So yeah, I got to know him a little bit and obviously got to spend some time with him here at training camp. So, really excited for him, and I mean, looks like he’s been taking a few steps since he was here last time.”
Penguins Head Coach Dan Muse felt Hallander’s game was solid from the start, but took off after getting reacquainted with the smaller rink and different style.
“The stuff he was doing, a lot of the stuff that stood out even this summer when you go back and you watch him, it’s like, this is stuff that translates,” Muse said. “Those bursts of speed and those quick movements off the wall, it’s been great to get to start to watch his game here and seeing how it translates.”
Hallander made his season debut on Oct. 9 at home against the Islanders, picking up his first NHL point, an assist, in the 4-3 win. Muse has liked the consistency despite some inconsistent playing time early on with how games played out.
“That was awesome,” Muse said. “Hallander’s been playing really well… early on, he would have to sit there and sometimes be between shifts for a while, and that’s not an easy thing to do. And I thought he was consistent. You knew what you were going to get shift in, shift out. So now, he’s getting a little bit more, and he’s doing a good job with it. So, it’s always awesome to see somebody get their first, and especially a goal like that there, and the way it impacted this game.”