On Thursday in the Sweden Hockey League (SHL), Timrå IK will face Rögle BK. The Timrå IK lineup features Filip Hållander [https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/293387/filip-hallander], the second-highest scorer in the SHL this season, with 21 points in 17 games. The Penguins recently called up prospects Owen Pickering and Vasily Ponomarev. What impact can they have on the NHL lineup? The 24-year-old is still under contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, whose rights expire in June 2027 [https://capwages.com/teams/pittsburgh_penguins]. He's chasing David Tomasek from Färjestad BK, who has 22 points in 16 games. Interestingly, Hållander would be the Penguins' top scorer, a single point ahead of captain Sidney Crosby, who has 20 points in 21 games. He would tie for the team lead in goals (seven) with Crosby and Rickard Rakell while tying Evgeni Malkin in assists (14). Despite having two of the SHL's top scorers, Färjestad BK (10-0-8) and Timrå IK (10-0-8) are in the middle pack, tied fifth in the league's standings [https://www.shl.se/game-stats/teams/result?ssgtUuid=qeb-73qtP8d19&count=25&moduleType=result]. Hållander is in his second season with Timrå IK after spending two years in North America with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and skating three games in Pittsburgh from 2021 to 2023. Last season, he scored a career-high 14 goals and 36 points, which is better than any totals he had with the Penguins (33). Hållander is on pace to score 21 goals and 63 points in 51 games. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwNjYwNDIwMDI3OTUwOTI5/thnpitbanner.png]
