BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The biggest trade of the year in the NHL was the one that brought forward prospect Dillon Hamaliuk to the Penguins' organization.
Hamaliuk wasn't the centerpiece of that deal, of course.
Hamaliuk, 22, was the prospect the Sharks included in the trade that sent Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh last month. Originally a second-round pick of the Sharks in 2019, Hamaliuk is entering his third professional season and the final year of his entry-level contract. He was limited to just 50 total games over the previous two seasons -- 44 in the AHL with the San Jose Barracuda in 2021-22, and six in the ECHL with the Wichita Thunder last season -- due to injury.
Hamaliuk got to Pittsburgh a couple weeks ago for the informal skates at the Lemieux Complex, and is now with the Penguins' prospects in Buffalo, N.Y. for three exhibition games as part of the annual Prospects Challenge. It's been a small sample size, but Hamaliuk is pretty pleased so far about how the trade has worked out for him.
"You're expecting to go back to the same team you were with, and then you get a phone call, and you're going right to a different destination," Hamaliuk said Saturday. "Everybody's been so good here, and I've just been so happy about it. ... You know what? I thought I needed a fresh start, too."
Hamaliuk wanted that fresh start because he wasn't totally satisfied with the way things were working out for him in the Sharks' organization, and a change in management meant that the new regime wasn't the one that liked him enough to use a second-round pick on him in 2019.
Tough injury luck was a major factor in Hamaliuk not being happy with the way things went for him the last two years. Various ailments limited him to 44 games as a rookie in the AHL, and he recorded three goals, six assists and 37 penalty minutes in those games. He started off last season with the ECHL's Wichita Thunder, and was in and out of the lineup for the first three months of the season as he tried to work through a hip issue. When he was able to play he played well, and scored four goals, three assists and 34 penalty minutes in six games before hip surgery ended his season at the end of December.
"I had to get hip surgery last year but everything's great now," Hamaliuk said Saturday of how he's doing. "This is my second game back in almost a year now, and I'm starting to feel it back out and getting better every game."
Hamaliuk said that strengthening his hip out was one of his biggest focuses in his offseason training, in addition to working on his speed.
Hamaliuk, listed at 6 foot 4 and 200 pounds, is a power forward. He describes himself as a "pretty physical player," who likes to "get gritty around the net and score those types of goals." He was noticeable in both of the first two games to open the Prospects Challenge, for different reasons. He didn't find the back of the net in a 4-2 loss to the Bruins on Friday, but that grittiness, physicality, and the edge he plays with made him stand out. He was the only multi-goal player for the Penguins in their 8-3 win over the Senators on Saturday, scoring the team's third and sixth goals.
The first of the two goals was a one-timer off the rush set up by free agent invite forward Atley Calvert.
"I kind of just kicked it out to Calvert and drove the net," Hamaliuk recalled. " And he had a perfect pass, right on my tape. I just tried to get it up top, and I did."
The latter of the two goals was a redirect.
"The second one, it was just perfectly-placed shot and I was able to tip it," he said. "I kind of got a little bit of a lucky bounce where it hit the ice and went over the goalie's shoulder. So I was pretty happy with that one."
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach J.D. Forrest, who is also serving as the head coach of this group in the Prospects Challenge, was impressed by what Hamaliuk brought to the scoresheet. He was also impressed by how Hamaliuk looked on the penalty-kill despite being new to the organization and learning a new system on the fly.
"I was really happy to see him score some goals today," Forrest said. "He hasn't played a lot of hockey, he's been out with surgery, various injuries in the last couple seasons. Last season he only played six games. That's just another guy who hasn't played a lot of hockey. (The first game) was probably tough for him, I'm imagining. He made some adjustments on the penalty kill, just talking to him and having those conversations. (Assistant coach Sheldon Brookbank) did a good job with the PK guys to get them to understand what we're trying to do a little bit. He's another guy who plays physical, and he seems to have a bit of a touch around the net. A deflection goal and those types of things. He's an interesting player for us."
Hamaliuk said that he prides himself in that penalty-killing skill he has. It's something he said he's done "a lot of times" in the past, and he's pleased that he's already getting an opportunity to work in that kind of role with the Penguins.
It'll be a tough battle for Hamaliuk to find a consistent role with Wilkes-Barre this coming season. The AHL roster will likely be a pretty deep one, after the high number of depth forwards signed by Kyle Dubas this offseason. Especially given that Hamaliuk is coming off of essentially a lost season, it wouldn't be surprising to see him start in the ECHL with the Nailers this season. If he has a strong start to the year, he could eventually push for one of those bottom-six spots in Wilkes-Barre's lineup.
The Karlsson deal that Dubas managed to pull off this season was a huge win when it came to improving the defense corps and shedding some bad contracts. If Hamaliuk can develop into anything positive for the Penguins' organization, that makes the trade look that much better.
