Filip Hallander made a bold statement during the Penguins' development camp in September.
"I'm here to take a spot," he said. "If you're coming to main (training) camp, you have to have the mindset of taking a spot."
Things didn't go quite as planned for Hallander to open the season. He was sidelined for the start of training camp with a nagging lower-body injury, and only got into the last two preseason games.
Once Hallander got to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to start the AHL season, the transition to the North American game was admittedly more difficult than he had anticipated, and he struggled at first in a third-line role.