Why Fabian Lysell is entering a critical season with the Bruins

Fabian Lysell has logged a whopping zero games up in the NHL ranks. 

Given the 21-year-old winger’s lack of reps at hockey’s highest level, it might be odd for one of Boston’s top prospects to shoulder such high expectations for the upcoming 2024-25 season.

But be it Lysell’s own tantalizing high-end talent or the top-six vacancy currently present in Boston’s forward corps, the Swedish product is staring at a golden opportunity to make his mark with the Bruins this winter.

Based on the comments from Boston’s top brass, they’re planning on giving him every opportunity to seize such a coveted spot up front. 

“Just pin your ears back, train your ass off this summer, and come with the intent that there’ll be an opportunity here,” Don Sweeney said of Boston’s next crop of young skaters like Lysell and Georgii Merkulov. “If you’re the best player, then we’ll find a way to get you in the lineup. You have to sustain it as you’re going along. … Those guys should have clear intentions to come and find an opportunity to beat somebody out because it’ll be there.”

Of course, cracking Boston’s lineup over the last few years is easier said than done. 

Even during this upcoming training camp, promising bottom-six candidates like Riley Duran and Trevor Kuntar are staring at an uphill climb when it comes to fighting for minutes on an NHL roster with players like Trent Frederic, Morgan Geekie, Matthew Poitras, Johnny Beecher, Max Jones, Mark Kastelic, and Justin Brazeau.

But further up the lineup, the opportunity is there for a skilled forward like Lysell to carve out a spot in a featured, top-six role. 

Even though Boston landed two of the top free agents on the market in Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov, Jake DeBrusk inking a seven-year contract with the Canucks on July 1 left a significant vacancy on the wing. 

While the Bruins weren’t going to realistically be in the mix for a star talent like Steven Stamkos after signing both Lindholm and Zadorov, Boston’s decision to not add another potential scoring winger on a more affordable deal like Anthony Duclair ($3.5 million AAV with Islanders) or Daniel Spring ($975,000 with Vancouver) was an interesting move, given the need for more scoring punch up front.

The Bruins still need to account for Jeremy Swayman’s looming pay raise, with @BruinsCapSpace currently tabbing Boston with $9.35 million in cap space to account for that hefty new contract. 

Even so, the Bruins might have had some money left over to add at least another potential 20-goal scorer to the mix, especially if it waited for the dust to settle after the July 1 free-agent feeding frenzy.

Instead, the Bruins are likely looking internally to shore up a top-six grouping that currently might look like:

Zacha-Lindholm-Pastrnak
Marchand-Coyle-???

As far as possible top-six candidates, the Bruins could opt for an internal promotion with an established NHLer like Geekie or Frederic. 

But a prospect like Lysell could make life a whole lot easier for Boston if he takes a major step forward this fall, giving the Bruins a skilled talent (on a cheap deal) who can inject some offense up top and keep some very talented NHLers like Geekie and Frederic further down the lineup.

Of course, such a scenario playing out would involve Lysell actually making the jump up to the NHL ranks. 

Based on Sweeney’s comments before the 2024 NHL Draft, it appears as though Lysell was on track to get his first taste of NHL action last season before getting sidelined with a concussion in March. 

Even though Sweeney acknowledged that Lysell wasn’t “100 percent comfortable” upon returning to play with Providence during the Calder Cup Playoffs, the winger still managed to put together a strong season in the AHL. He recorded 15 goals and 50 total points over 56 games. 

“We were really excited about where he was tracking and had he continued along that path and stayed healthy, he would have gotten an opportunity up top like a lot of other guys did,” Sweeney said of Lysell. “Because he had played that well. 

“So now he’s got to hit the reset button and have a really good offseason and come back with the intention that he knows how well he can play, he knows how we were proud of the steps he had taken.”

It’s easy to see why Lysell has long held court as one of Boston’s top prospects, with his skating talents and ability to craft scoring opportunities out of the blue with his puck skills making him a potential impact NHLer as he continues to take steps forward. 

Granted, there will be some growing pains along the way if Lysell manages to run with the opportunity handed to him this fall. 

Lysell’s knack for crossing over the blue line and attacking multiple defenders head-on has led to him taking some crushing hits in Providence. Those welts will be even more painful for the 5-foot-11, 181-pound forward in the NHL if he doesn’t pick his spots well.

Still, the upside is there with a player like Lysell — as is the need for another top-six talent to emerge for Boston following DeBrusk’s departure.

The Bruins have contingency plans with players like Geekie and Frederic, no doubt. But a youngster like Lysell holds plenty of appeal for a Bruins team in desperate need of some highlight-reel skill.

Now, the onus falls on Lysell to run with the chance afforded to him this fall. 

“Fab had huge steps this year,” Providence head coach Ryan Mougenel said of Lysell last month. “Again, we forget how young Fabian is at times. We had him as a 19 year old and the maturity that he’s shown in his game has been great to see … It’s been two years for Fabian where the light started to go on really early on this year that —  you play well in your own end, it translates to offense. He’s such a special player.”