On the Mend Again: Malenstyn Back With Bears Getting Into Game Shape

HERSHEY, Pa. - The past few years have seemed like a bit of a roller coaster for Beck Malenstyn, and this season has been no different. The 6'3 winger made the opening night roster for the Washington Capitals out of training camp, and appeared in five games for the Caps before disaster struck. Again.

"Yeah, it's tough," Malenstyn told InsideAHLHockey.com after Wednesday night's win over Providence. "I won't beat around the bush - it's not easy - but you have to try to find the positives in it. I think I'm going to end up being a better player for it in the long run, but yeah, it's frustrating to feel like you're getting really close to sticking up there and getting an opportunity to kind of start your career off and you get sidetracked."

That sidetrack this season was in the form of an "upper body" injury. In his fifth game for the Capitals, a team that has been a bit decimated by injuries at the forward position this season, Malenstyn dove to block a shot against Vegas. The puck struck his left hand, resulting in a broken finger. Surgery was required.

"I've never been afraid to go down and block shots, and every once in a while, it doesn't turn out so well for you," Malenstyn said. "So yeah, it's frustrating."

But Malenstyn was able to find a silver lining in this injury compared to others that sidelined him previously.

"You know, as a hockey player, you probably take those upper body injuries over the lowers," Malenstyn explained, adding, "I know with my Achilles, that was really tough to not be on the ice for a long period of time, and, you know, our legs are kind of our horses out there. When you're not able to work on those, it can affect you, so I was fortunate enough [with the hand injury] to be able to be on the ice for about six weeks in my eight week rehab."

With the aforementioned injuries to the Capitals, the training staff has definitely been busy.

"I mean, there was a train wreck of us injured up there," Malenstyn laughed. "So we had our own little team out there, and we'd have our skates, but yeah, long rehab process, but hats off to all those guys up there for helping me get through it."

Because there were teammates going through the rehab process as well, it allowed a bit more latitude as to what the staff could do with the players, except for that one time that Malenstyn was out alone with the strength and conditioning coaches.

"It definitely just adds a different aspect to those times when you have other people out there and allows you to do different drills, more game-like situations. And when you have those hard moments, you have somebody to lean on, someone to push you, all of that kind of stuff. So it doesn't make it any easier, per se, but definitely makes it more enjoyable to get through that, you know, someone's kind of going through the same thing with you."

That hard work paid off for Malenstyn and a number of other injured players in Washington, so the Capitals returned him to Hershey and he found himself on the third line and the penalty kill in his first game back Wednesday night. Malenstyn's addition to Hershey's penalty kill, which has been tested quite often of late, was a key to victory over the Providence Bruins.

"You know, in my five years here working with Wellsy, we have a great relationship where we can sit down talk about things that I see, things that he sees, and make little tweaks and changes, and it just really makes me feel confident going over the boards that, you know, I have a penalty kill coach and partners around me that believe in me, and I believe in them," Malenstyn said of Bears assistant coach Patrick Wellar and his fellow teammates on the penalty killing units. "So it's a huge responsibility that I take a lot of pride in, and it's great when we're successful."

"It's huge for our hockey team," Bears head coach Todd Nelson said of Malenstyn's addition. "He plays an honest game out there, he goes through bodies. He's the first one that goes over [the boards for] the penalty kill. He's a great addition to our hockey team. We get that physicality element to our forward group."

That physicality definitely stood out in his first game back as Malenstyn wasted no time sending Bruins hard into the glass, sending a Bruins defenseman flying off his skates with a big hit early in the first period to set the tone in what was a matchup - at the time - between the #1 and #2 teams int he entire American Hockey League (AHL).

"Yeah, that's a huge part of my game, but in saying that, it's probably the hardest thing to kind of guage when you're stepping back, and there's those first few skates after the summer where you haven't been physical the whole time and you realize it takes a lot out [of you]," Malenstyn admitted. "Yeah, it definitely sucks the energy but, no, it's something that I think kind of gets me engaged, gets me into the game and I was fortunate to have a few opportunities early to kind of mentally lock in. And, it's something I've done for a long time and will continue to do so often. It definitely helps me lock in, though, which is great."

It's also helpful when returning to the ice means seeing a bunch of familiar faces in the room.

"This group has been awesome; a lot of us have been together for a long time and then you guys that have come in and have really just slid right in and the team's been doing great. You know, I've been following them the whole time and really just grateful to be able to step in and be a part of this team," Malenstyn said of joining the Bears. "I mean tonight was a huge game; I thought from Shep out, everyone played great and the atmosphere was awesome. And yeah, it was a lot of fun to be back out on the ice; you know, two months off of anything you're itching to get back out there. And so to step into a game like this was a great challenge for me personally, and as a group, and I thought we really handled it well."

And while their sights are always set on the playoffs and the goal is to bring Calder Cup Championship #12 back to Hershey, everyone is focused on the next game on the schedule and improving - individually and as a team.