The 25-year-old suffered two major injuries that interrupted halted two potential breakout years. He's finally ready to make his mark as he eyes a likely NHL jump with the Capitals.
Back in the fall, Beck Malenstyn was finally on the verge of living out his dream. He was five games into his call-up to the struggling Washington Capitals, making quite the statement and forcing his way into a full-time role at the NHL level.
Then, another impressive moment turned tragic for the 25-year-old as he slid to block a shot, which caught him right in the hand, shattering a finger and leading to surgery.
"It's frustrating... it felt really good for those first couple games up here this year," Malenstyn said.
It was a lost opportunity for Malenstyn, who ended up being replaced by waiver pickup Nicolas Aube-Kubel. He headed back to the Hershey Bears for the majority of the year but earned a four-game call-up to close out Washington's season. It was not only a chance for him to show what he could do but a preview of next year, where he is "pencilled in" on the roster for this coming season, per general manager Brian MacLellan.
"Any time you get a chance to come up here and play, you got to make the most of it," Malenstyn said, adding, "[I] take it by the reins and just play my game simple... great opportunity to leave a lasting impression."
He'd been at this point before. The 25-year-old was likely set to win a roster spot and be a depth player for Washington in the COVID-19-shortened 2020-21 campaign. But one month before training camp, he'd tear his Achilles while prepping for camp and the season ahead, which kept him off the ice for 6-8 months. He got 12 games with the big club in 2021-22 and led the team in hits over that span, but there was no room for an extended stay as the team got its injured players back.
Malenstyn admitted that those types of setbacks can take a bit of a mental toll, but instead of falling into that, he reframed his mindset and focused on the positives.
"[My NHL stint to start the season was] something I [could] lean on confidence-wise. I felt really good in those five games that I was here for," Malenstyn said. "All I really did was play my game and kept it pretty simple, didn't try to play outside myself."
While doing that, he also focused only on what he could control, putting all of his efforts into his rehabilitation and getting back to full strength. That helped tremendously when he got down to Hershey, which kept him on the Capitals' radar while he finished the year with numerous hits and 10 points in 40 games.
"I was able to kind of hit the ground running with all the work I was able to do off-ice during that rehab process," he said. "It set me all up to come up here."
Following his small stint in D.C., he returned to Hershey and helped the team hoist the Calder Cup. It not only served as another confidence boost and milestone after a strong regular season in the AHL, but it made a statement: he's ready to graduate.
Now, going into what'll likely be his rookie season, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound winger is ready to bring his physicality and grit to the NHL level while being a versatile skater that can play in almost any situation.
And when it comes to accomplishing that, his game plan is "really simple."
"It's staying within myself, playing my type of hockey for as many shifts as I go out there and bringing that kind of energy that I can."