Dillon Hamaliuk - Making His Presence Known
Oct 1, 2022
“That’s just my game, I guess. I love getting physical – just grinding it out and making my presence known on the ice. It’s kind of what I’m known for.”
San Jose Sharks prospect Dillon Hamaliuk is entering his second season of professional hockey, and after the work he put in over the summer, he is coming back to prove he belongs.
Noting that he worked on his skating ability and puck protection, Hamaliuk also said that his core strength is stronger and that he built his confidence from last season. The year prior to his rookie season in the American Hockey League with the San Jose Barracuda, Hamaliuk had seen just 16 games as the Western Hockey League played a condensed season due to COVID-19 in 2021.
Throughout the 2021-22 season, Hamaliuk’s first with the Barracuda, the Sharks’ 2019 second-round draft pick said the focus was just on rounding out his game and translating his success in the WHL into pro success with the Sharks organization. This year, the 6-foot-3 winger acknowledged that he plays a simple game compared to the “smaller skilled guys”. He describes his style of play as “gritty, physical, and just hard-nosed hockey” which just so happens to be exactly what the Sharks are looking for in their skaters.
Of course, it feels like a new organization in San Jose, but Hamaliuk said that the change has been a welcome one.
“Everything is just changing. It’s for the better, too. I think that this is what this organization needed. I think we’re kind of on the come up now.”
Some new old faces
With all the changes come new people to get to know, something Hamaliuk says has been going well so far but, not every face new to the organization is also new to the winger.
Following a strong showing at the Rookie Faceoff and training camp, the latest Barracuda signing Mark Liwiski and Dillon Hamaliuk are set to play together again, having spent two seasons together in the WHL for the Kelowna Rockets.
"We actually lived together too, in Kelowna. We’re pretty much brothers,” said Hamaliuk on Liwiski being in San Jose. “It’s nice to even be playing on his line as well.”
Liwiski isn’t the only person Hamaliuk spent time with in the WHL who is now with the San Jose Barracuda.
“It was awesome when I saw Hags was the assistant coach here now,” said Hamaliuk of his reaction to seeing former Seattle Thunderbirds assistant coach joining Barracuda head coach John McCarthy’s staff behind the bench. “He’s an awesome guy and he helped me so much in Seattle to help me get to where I am today.”
According to Hamaliuk, Hagel is a little easier on the guys now that he is no longer running the team’s strength and conditioning program as he did for the Thunderbirds.
However, the Barracuda assistant coach is still just as tough about his own fitness as he was when he was a player himself.
“Hags is still doing his own workouts in the gym, and he bags himself,” laughed Hamaliuk.
“We’re so fortunate to have such an awesome state-of-the-art facility,” commented Hagel when asked about his gym time. “It’s a lot different than I remember in the American Hockey League, with low ceilings and dingy lights.”
Of course, coaching Hamaliuk for a second time is a fun experience, according to Hagel, who went on to say:
“I had him when he was 17 and 18 in Seattle and just tried to tell him that he had to get out there and try to play physical, which I think that he’s done.”
Leaving a mark on the game
While noticeably absent from Sharks development camp in July, Hamaliuk came into rookie camp and the Rookie Faceoff unconcerned with being given the extra time off over the summer.
“I guess I’ve already done my three dev camps, so they just said I didn’t need to come this year,” commented Hamaliuk on his absence.
Following the second game of the Rookie Faceoff, McCarthy discussed what his message was to the Sharks prospects who were trying to establish themselves over the weekend’s games.
“I thought, in the past, a lot of our players – meaning guys that are learned up with us – they go to training camp, and they think they can just exist, and they'll somehow make a team. You have to leave a mark on the game. If you get a game, you have to leave a mark on the game. You’ve got to let the coaches you know remember you the next day.”
Minutes later, McCarthy mentioned a list of players he felt stood out in the night’s game and said:
“That Dillon Hamaliuk showed up. He had a screen on the power-play goal, worked through the goalie’s eyes, left his mark on the game, finished some hits... That's what we're looking for out of him”
Another thing that both the Sharks and Barracuda coaching staff are looking for is their teams playing as a unit. Always having all five guys in on any situation on the ice, whether it’s a play or a scrum.
“To me,” commented Sharks head coach David Quinn about the five-man in style of play, “it’s all about playing five-man gaps. You need to be tight to the play and you need to work as a unit. It’s certainly something we’ve talked about.”
McCarthy discussed it as a mentality and how important it is to develop that culture within the team, something that hasn’t been lost on Hamaliuk.
“We all have to stick together,” said Hamaliuk on what the style of play means to him. “If there’s a battle in the corner and there’s a bit of a scrum, all five guys are going. Nobody’s left to hang by themselves. That, and just being a team and always working together. There are no individuals. Everybody’s a conjoined group and that’s exactly what we’ve got to be.”
Yeah, I could have easily said apple or banana. How about an orange, but I have no idea why.
“That is true. The outside’s not very good, but the inside is.”
For Barracuda fans
“Just pack the rink. We love it, and we love hearing you guys. Just pack the rink and be loud.”
Oh, and if you were wondering... If Dillon Hamaliuk were a fruit, he said he would be an orange, but he has no idea why. Interesting, considering Kyle Hagel also said he would be an orange.