NHL Notebook: Why it’s important to remain realistic about Fabian Lysell and next wave of B’s talent in 2022-23

A blue-chip prospect like Fabian Lysell represents a ton of different things to a fanbase — especially a black-and-gold contingent that hasn’t had a whole lot to look forward to when it comes to Boston’s pipeline of young talent.

It offers some optimism for the future — a much-needed dose of dopamine for a B’s franchise that, sooner or later, will need to accept that its success will no longer be orchestrated by a core of Bergeron, Marchand, etc.

It tempts fans with the potential of high-end talent on the cusp of breaking through in the NHL ranks — with clips of the fleet-footed Lysell dicing up the WHL last season routinely making the rounds on Bruins-centric social-media channels.  

And for a front-office staff — especially one like the Bruins that is both trying to contend in 2022-23 while remaining cognizant of the potentially lean campaigns on the horizon — Lysell offers the appeal of an effective, cost-controlled asset in the short term, and a potential franchise cog in the years ahead if all pans out.

It’s ironic in some respects, that Lysell has so much weight resting on his shoulders when it comes to Boston’s long-term plans. After all, the uber-skilled Swede has only spent a month or so in Massachusetts since Boston plucked him out of the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft.

Be it the travel and health-related complications brought about by COVID-19, a frantic 2021-22 schedule and a myriad of other factors, Lysell hasn’t exactly had all that many reps in and around New England — with his appearance at least year’s Development Camp and subsequent training camp standing as his only extended residency in New England.

Since then, the winger has primarily been either playing on the West Coast up with the Vancouver Giants (WHL), or back overseas in Europe — training with Team Sweden for the 2022 World Juniors after the usual December-January timeslot was pushed back to August due to the pandemic.

With Lysell working with his fellow countrymen this summer, he was not present at what would have been his second Development Camp this past week — a disappointing result, no doubt. But even though he wasn’t able to rub elbows with Boston’s top talent evaluators and his fellow prospects at Warrior Ice Arena, Lysell doesn’t need to worry about his stock dipping when it comes to how he’s regarded by the B’s upper management. 

"We're very happy with the way he progressed as the year went on," Jamie Langenbrunner said of Lysell. "Definitely an adjustment the first half of the year, mostly off the ice, to be honest with you. Living, being away from home, new culture, all that. But he grew and grew and then during his playoff run — the most important time of the year — he was playing his best hockey and really put that team on his back. He's a great kid. He's gonna be a good player."

And sure enough, even with his limited on-ice reps on this side of North America, it doesn’t appear as though the Bruins are going to be putting any training wheels on Lysell when the team opens camp in September.

With Lysell expected to go from the World Junior Tournament in Edmonton right to Boston in late August, it appears as though the Bruins want Lysell to approach this fall with the mindset of trying to earn a spot on the big club out of the gate — and they’re going to give him plenty of opportunities to accomplish said feat. 

“He'll determine where he plays next year," Don Sweeney said of Lysell. "Boston, Providence, or Vancouver [WHL]. We think he's certainly talented enough to play in any one of those three places, and he's proven he can put up big numbers in the WHL and see if physically he can handle the next steps, be it in Boston or in Providence. We're excited about what his progression will dictate."

Of course, there’s a seismic jump in the standard of play between junior hockey and the punishment that awaits in the pros — especially for a winger in Lysell who currently clocks in at 172 pounds, soaking wet. 

But given Lysell’s skating ability, poise with the puck and creativity in the offensive zone, the teenager does have the arsenal on hand to do damage at the next level — especially after finishing his tenure in Vancouver with 21 points (four goals, 17 assists) over just 12 playoff games.

And for as much as Boston is indeed looking to run things back this season (with both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci in tow, of course), there very well could be a vacancy at right wing for Lysell to slot in — especially with Jake DeBrusk likely moved back over to LW for the first few months of the season with Brad Marchand on the shelf.

Add in the fact that a veteran like Craig Smith could be a potential trade candidate as Boston looks to clear cap space, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Lysell could land a regular spot in the middle-six with Boston so long as he holds his own this preseason.

It’s possible, yes. But is it likely? Or perhaps the most important question is … is it fair to put such lofty expectations on a player who has only played 65 total games in North America — all in the junior-hockey circuit?

Given Lysell’s O-zone flair, it’s easy to draw some parallels between him and another younger winger who cut his teeth in Sweden before thriving in Boston’s system in short order — David Pastrnak.

The similarities in play style are there, but it’s also a very dangerous game to link a top prospect like Lysell to a franchise cog who exceeded all expectations like No. 88.

“I have to be careful, because Pasta is a superstar in the NHL,” Bruins European scouting coordinator P.J. Axelsson said last year of Lysell. “But at the same age, they are similar. They both really want to win hockey games, they’re both really competitive, and they love to score goals. There are similarities. Hopefully Fabian can do what Pasta did and develop the same way. I’m not saying he’ll be the same player, because we don’t know, but he definitely has the talent to become a very good hockey player.”

For as much as Lysell has flashed his potential at every stop in his young career, a level of caution must be upheld in order to prevent unfair expectations from sitting on the shoulders of a prospect who, understandably, might need more time to marinate.

For every Pastrnak — who needed just 25 games down in Providence before getting the call up to Boston as a teenager — there are thousands of prospects who need to take their lumps and cut their teeth in the AHL for a full season before becoming a viable option in the NHL.

At the end of the day, it’s all about keeping an open mind and holding measured expectations when it comes to high-end prospects. 

It’s safe to assume that the Bruins will give Lysell every opportunity to earn his shot up with the big club this fall. Perhaps he runs with it, and is penciled into the starting lineup on Oct. 12 down in Washington, D.C. Or maybe he needs more seasoning down in Providence — be it for the entire 2022-23 campaign, or maybe, like Pastrnak, for just a month or two.

Whatever path Lysell ultimately takes, it shouldn’t change the fact that Boston has a promising young asset on the cusp of making an impact — sooner or later.

And if the Swede ends up winning the Calder Trophy this upcoming season, I will gladly welcome all of the “told ya so” discourse coming my way. But such a fantastic rookie debut should be viewed as the exception, not the norm, when it comes to charting Lysell’s first sojourn up to the NHL ranks.

B’s sign Studnicka to 2-year deal

Speaking of young players, the B’s continued to knock out a few in-house moves this weekend, signing restricted free agent Jack Studnicka to a two-year contract that will carry a cap hit at the NHL level of $762,500. The terms of the deal will include a two-way structure for the 2022-23 season, and a one-way structure for the 2023-24 season.

While the two-way nature of Studnicka's contract next season would seem to map out a scenario in which he splits time between Boston and Providence, this upcoming training camp could be a make-or-break juncture for the young pivot. Given his tenure in the pros, Studnicka would need to be exposed to waivers if Boston does want to send him back down to Providence this fall — opening the door for another team to pluck him from the organization without penalty. 

As such, the Bruins will be hoping that Studnicka has enough mettle to stick with the NHL roster this upcoming season, although his opportunity to earn consistent reps might hinge on whether or not Bergeron and Krejci return. 

“Studnicka is a young pro,” Providence head coach Ryan Mougenel said of Studnicka last week. “If you look around the league, like, it’s a tough league. For me, Studs, there was a time during the season where he came down [from Boston] and he was our best player and our go-to guy, which we expect from him. His game is maturing, it’s rounding out.

“He’s gotta watch the puck go in the net, he’s gotta get touches, he’s gotta play with confidence. He’s done everything we’ve ever asked him to do. We asked him to get bigger, we asked him to get stronger, he’s done those. Now it’s his time. It’s his time to make those things go to work. He’s another kid — like a Trent Frederic — everybody roots for. He’s just a special kid and I think he’s got a great future.”

 Sorting through the aftermath of Tkachuk deal

Well, I sure am glad that I didn’t pen any column regarding Matthew Tkachuk and the Bruins this weekend.

Sure enough, just days after reports first started to surface that Tkachuk wanted out of Calgary, the Flames dealt him to the Panthers — with Florida relinquishing Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt and Florida's lottery-protected 2025 first-round selection for the power forward.

A few quick takeaways from the first legit “hockey trade” we’ve had in years. 

1. Tkachuk is going to be a problem in the Atlantic: Yes, we’ll eventually focus on the hefty price that the Panthers paid to pry Tkachuk out of Alberta and whether or not it makes them a better team in the long run. But just looking through the lens of the Bruins and every other team in the Atlantic, adding a fly in the ointment like Tkachuk to the division is only going to cause further headaches. 

The 24-year-old forward is truly a unicorn in today’s NHL, capable of producing at a high rate (42 goals, 104 points last season) while also routinely racking up hits and bugging the bejesus out of the opposition night in and night out. The Bruins, like many other teams in the NHL, already have to game plan around a guy like Tom Wilson whenever they battle the Caps. But now they’ve got a far better power-forward menace to deal with within their own division in Tkachuk.

Tkachuk is cut from the same cloth as a player like Brad Marchand when it comes to hating him if he’s the opposition — but loving him if he was donning your team’s sweater.

2. No, Boston never had a chance in any Tkachuk trade talks: In some respects, Tkachuk getting dealt from Calgary for such a sizable haul of top-end talent justified my decision to not write any extended column about the Bruins and their slim chances of dealing for the star winger.

Sure, the Bruins would have loved to add a player of Tkachuk’s caliber to their roster — especially given his sandpaper style of play. But let’s face it: unless Boston was willing to move Pastrnak, Lysell, Mason Lohrei and likely a bevy of first-round picks, Calgary probably wasn’t going to bite. And in the big picture, adding a young, elite winger like Tkachuk still wouldn’t fix Boston’s most pressing need — an established top-six pivot (or two) locked in for the future. 

3. I … kind of hate this deal for Florida? Yes, Tkachuk is a fantastic player. Better than Huberdeau, who I think has had his numbers juiced quite a bit thanks to heaps of favorable O-zone starts over the last few seasons. But where the Panthers lost me here is the decision to include a top-four stud in Weegar — especially given what’s left of Florida’s D corps.

Sure, perhaps the Panthers were avoiding a painful decision in the coming years with Huberdeau and Weegar both hitting free agency next summer. But with Florida already $3 million over the cap, I don’t know how a move like this exactly moves the needle for them, especially with Sergei Bobrovsky and a still unproven Spencer Knight in net. Sure, the Panthers have the firepower in place to win a lot of 6-5 games in December and January … but come the postseason?

Meh.