Fabian Lysell’s path, Jack Ahcan’s poise and 8 other takeaways from 2021 Prospects Challenge taken at BSJ Headquarters (Bruins)

(Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)

BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 18: Jack Ahcan #54 of the Boston Bruins plays in his first career NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres on March 18, 2021 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.

Bruins

Fabian Lysell’s path, Jack Ahcan’s poise and 8 other takeaways from 2021 Prospects Challenge

By Conor Ryan

Sep 20, 2021 • 12:14 pm

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The Bruins’ pipeline of young talent impressed at LECOM Harborcenter over the weekend, as Boston split a pair of games against the Sabres and Devils on Saturday and Sunday during the annual Prospects Challenge in Buffalo. Here are 10 takeaways from the two-day event:

1. Lysell’s skill pops in Game 2

It’s easy to justify some of the hype that Fabian Lysell carries with him whenever he hops over the boards — especially when the 2021 first-round pick has open ice in front of him and can turn on the afterburners. 

But for as much as B’s fans have become infatuated with Lysell’s ability to stuff a highlight reel with ease, measured optimism should be the mentality to adopt when it comes to the 18-year-old winger’s development in North America. 

And sure enough, even though Lysell potted an empty-net goal during Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Sabres, the rookie looked like … well, a rookie — with some of his fleet-footed shifts offset when matched up against bigger and stronger competition 3-5 years his senior. 

But in Game 2 against the Devils on Sunday afternoon, Lysell tilted the scales back in his favor against AHL competition thanks to his wheels and creativity on the man advantage — notching three assists on all three of Boston’s power-play goals in what was an eventual 4-3 loss to New Jersey. 

Despite some shaky play in the opening stanza — including a failed breakaway bid in which he lost control of the biscuit just before he could snap off a shot — Lysell settled down and took advantage of the extra ice afforded to him during power-play reps, generating Grade-A looks off of shots into traffic and drives down low. 

Lysell regularly utilized his skating ability to untangle the Devils’ defensive structure, nearly setting up Jakub Lauko for a netfront strike in the closing seconds of the first period off of a nifty backhand feed from behind New Jersey’s net. 

Lauko’s eventual third-period goal was a byproduct of some creative playmaking from Lysell, who created space for himself with a quick pivot before gliding down the half wall and jumpstarting a quick passing sequence with Samuel Asselin that eventually brought the B’s within one. 

“I think he felt very comfortable today. I thought he was a little bit of a different player,” Providence head coach Ryan Mougenel said of Lysell. He’s an exciting player. Every time he touched the puck, I got excited. I think he was feeling it, for sure. He did a very good job - very good game for him.” 

2. Lysell likely heading to WHL

Even with Lysell’s impressive performance on Sunday, “measured optimism” does seem to be the path that the Bruins will end up taking with arguably the most skilled prospect in their pipeline — as Don Sweeney told reporters in Buffalo that Lysell will likely play this season with the Vancouver Giants (WHL) instead of Providence. 

While some fans might be discouraged by the fact that Lysell isn’t following a similar path as, say, a David Pastrnak and accelerated his development path by going right from the SHL to the AHL,  it’s important to note Pastrnak’s trajectory back in 2014-15 was an outlier — and 24 other franchises were left shaking their heads that the skilled scorer slipped through their grasp on draft night that year. 

Even though Lysell has the skill to make some impact against AHL competition, it’s clear that the Swede still needs some time to adjust to the spike in competition. And given the number of talented and seasoned AHLers already on Providence’s depth chart, the best option for Lysell might be to earn top-line reps in the WHL rather than get relegated to a less-featured role with Providence as a green skater. 

Ultimately, whichever path Lysell took in 2021-22 was a positive development for the Bruins. If he was ready to make the jump right up to Providence? Great. If he spends a year learning the North American game (and likely stuffing the stat sheet) in Vancouver? The Bruins will take that as well. Because either way, Lysell is getting guaranteed reps and should only continue to build confidence as he looks to make his way up to the NHL level in due time. 

 3. Jesper Froden a man among boys in Buffalo

This might mark Jesper Froden’s first season in North America after an impressive run in his native Sweden, but his label as a “prospect” might be a bit misleading. While most of the participants in this weekend’s Prospect Challenge included first-year rookies or younger AHL contributors, Froden entered into the fray as the elder statesmen on the B’s — with the forward set to turn 27 on Tuesday. 

And even though Mougenel preached patience earlier this week when it comes to Froden’s development and the hurdles he will have to face as a player adjusting to a different brand of hockey in North America — this weekend stood as a pretty solid starting point for the new B’s pickup, as he buried four goals during the two-day event. 

A top-six fixture during the tournament, Froden routinely put himself in the right spot for some Grade-A looks, with his two power-play tallies in Sunday’s loss to the Devils coming off of a tip in front off of a Lysell shot and a one-timer rifle in the slot.

Again, it’s important to keep expectations for an older overseas import like Froden in check, as he might draw similar parallels to a previous pickup like Robert Lantosi (46 points in 75 games with Providence), rather than a key cog for the future, but the Swede could develop into an effective piece for Providence this season. 

“He’s a guy whose game is going to translate very well over here,” Mougenel said of Froden. “He’s one of those players that, when he plays with really good players, I think you are going to see how good he really is.’’

4. Jack Ahcan stakes claim as B’s most poised player in Buffalo

Froden might have routinely penciled himself into the stat sheet and Lysell’s potential popped on Sunday, but if you’re looking for the most consistent performer for the B’s over the tournament — it has to be Jack Ahcan. 

Ahcan finished with three assists in the two-game tournament, but the 24-year-old defenseman was far and away Boston’s most poised blueliner in all facets of the game. 

For as much as an undersized defenseman like Ahcan can often be painted with a broad brush as a power-play specialist, the St. Cloud State product was confident and steady during even-strength play — limiting O-zone shifts for the opposition thanks to calm and composed transition play while also using pinning skaters up against the boards to separate pucks. 

“You see how smart he is. We were just talking about it. Everything he does has a plan,” Mougenel said of Ahcan. “He’s just a different, special player. I was asked the other day, 'Do I talk to him differently about how to defend? ... I don’t. He’s strong, he’s inside. He’s a hockey player. Sometimes I get caught kind of watching him a lot out there.”

As we noted earlier this week, even though the B’s current depth chart on the left side might preclude Ahcan from an easy path up to the NHL, don’t be surprised if the undrafted free agent makes a major push this season and leapfrogs a few established names like Urho Vaakanainen and Jakub Zboril on the pecking order. 

5. Kyle Keyser stands out in Game 1

With Jeremy Swayman's emergence last season and Dan Vladar also earning reps up in the NHL ranks, it’s easy to overlook the B’s other promising young netminder in Kyle Keyser and where exactly he fits into the B’s long-term plans. 

Whether it be the play of Swayman/Vladar or Keyser’s own bad luck with injuries in 2019-20, the Florida native hasn’t had much of an opportunity to earn extended reps, especially at the AHL level. But with Swayman now up with Boston and Vladar dealt to Calgary, the opportunity is there for Keyser to raise his stock as Providence’s likely No. 1 man in net — although he'll face competition from UFA pickup Troy Grosenick. During Saturday’s win over the Sabres, Keyser sure seemed up to the task — stopping 32 shots in the victory, including a number of clutch stops off of defensive breakdowns in front of him. 

“We talked about in the second period — how Kyle's doing his job to kind of clean up a lot of our mistakes,” Mougenel said of Keyser. “And we knew there were going to be a lot of mistakes. And that's something we talked about — if we're gonna make a mistake, let's make an aggressive one.

“And there were definitely a lot of aggressive mistakes. So it's good to have Kyle back there to look after us. But I'm really happy for him. I hope he can build on it, translating to the big camp.”

6. The (2021) kids are alright

Lysell understandably draws most of the attention from Boston's 2021 draft class, but a number of other new additions to the B's prospect pool also stood out in Buffalo. 2021 third-round pick Brett Harrison had a knack for planting himself in Grade-A ice — scoring the eventual game-winning tally in Saturday's win before snapping off a couple of high-danger shots against the Devils on Sunday. 

It's already a promising sign that Harrison — who should develop into a bruising pivot (already 6-foot-2, 185 pounds at age 18 )— has a habit for scrapping down low, and after a promising stint in Finland last year, the young forward should be poised to produce with the Oshawa Generals (OHL) in 2021. And even though he didn't register much on the box score, sixth-round selection Ryan Mast was solid on Boston's blue line. Frankly, any reps — good or bad — are welcome for Mast, who essentially lost a whole season of development after the OHL canned the 2020-21 campaign during the pandemic. The 6-foot-4 defenseman will continue to shake off the rust with the Sarnia Sting (OHL) this year in what should be a featured role on their D corps. 

7. A shaky blue line 

Even though fresh faces like Lysell, Harrison and Mast all stood out at various stages of the two-day tournament, the same can't be said for a few senior members of Boston's roster — especially a couple of blueliners that are looking to take major steps forward in their respective careers in 2021-22. Brady Lyle, who could put himself in contention for a third-pairing role on Boston's right side at some point this year, labored over the weekend — with the gifted playmaker either forcing passes in a failed search for the picture-perfect feed or getting caught puck watching at times in his own zone. 

Nick Wolff — boasting a 6-foot-5, 229-pound frame — was as advertised as a physical force whenever he was out on a shift, but his effectiveness waned whenever the puck was on his stick, as the Minnesota Duluth product was whistled for a pair of delay-of-game infractions for flipping the biscuit over the glass. Add in a few bad reads in the D-zone, and it was far from the cleanest stretch of play for the 25-year-old defenseman. Of course, a two-day showing at a prospect tournament does not make or break a season, and both Lyle and Wolff are still expected to be featured cogs on Providence's blue line this year. 

8. Samuel Asselin could make a push 

While AHLers like Lauko and Oskar Steen were as advertised in Buffalo and could make a push at some point this season for bottom-six roles if said spots open up on the depth chart, don't sleep on a guy like Samuel Asselin, either. An undrafted free agent that spent a year down in the ECHL before finally earning a full-time role up with Providence last season, Asselin has impressed Boston's top brass with the strides he's made with each new year of development. 

“I’m a guy that really roots for Sammy," Mougenel said. "The process that he’s gone through, he’s a guy that’s put his time in. I had a lot of conversations with him when he was playing in the ECHL. The one thing that’s always been very clear with Sammy is he wants to play in the NHL. He’s done everything he can to scratch and claw and get there. As a coach and somebody that is a part of it with him, you get goosebumps when he has success."

9. Injury report

Unfortunately, the B’s did leave Buffalo with a few bumps and bruises. Defenseman J.D. Greenway found himself bit by the injury bug in Saturday’s matchup — going down with an upper-body injury early into the game and not returning. He ultimately sat out Sunday's contest as well, with Providence hockey guru Mark Divver noting that Greenway watched Boston's matchup against New Jersey with his arm in a sling. Greenway isn't the only blueliner in Boston's system that will be sidelined at the start of training camp, as Sweeney noted after Sunday's loss that AHL stalwart Josiah Didier and Swedish import Victor Berglund are also dealing with injuries. Sweeney also added that Charlie Coyle could be limited for the start of camp while rehabbing back from offseason knee surgery, although that falls in line with Coyle's projected recovery timeline that he mapped out a few weeks ago.

10. Fully vaxxed 

Sweeney offered another important piece of info to reporters in Buffalo, revealing that all Bruins players and staff are now fully vaccinated ahead of the 2021-22 season. So far, five NHL teams are fully vaxxed ahead of training camp — with the B's joining the Maple Leafs, Flames, Hurricanes and Flyers. Earlier this week, NHL Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said that the league expects 98% of its players will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before the start of the 2021-22 season.

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