It’s hard to miss Fabian Lysell when the 19-year-old forward takes to a clean sheet of ice.
Amid a mass of fellow B’s prospects, the native of Gothenburg, Sweden, doesn’t exactly separate himself from the pack by way of his physical tools. On the contrary, the 5-foot-10, 172-pound wing looks rather pedestrian when lined up against a wall of imposing blueliners or big-bodied power forwards.
But that disparity in terms of height and the discourse over what constitutes as a “pro frame” at the NHL level often tends to fall to the wayside as soon as Lysell gets a puck on his stick.
Because when the teenager has the biscuit in his possession and space to work with in the offensive zone, it’s easy to see why the Bruins hold their 2021 first-round pick in such high regard — and why the team isn’t ruling out a scenario in which Lysell earns legitimate NHL reps at some point in the 2022-23 campaign.
Slick hands from Fabian Lysell. pic.twitter.com/0j1gOU5m9S
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) September 14, 2022
"A fabulous kid that loves hockey,” Providence Bruins head coach Ryan Mougenel said of Lysell on Wednesday. “It shows in how he plays. His skill obviously sets him apart probably from his peers. But for him, I think it's a great opportunity for him to come in and have a measuring stick with some NHL guys. … He's a young guy. I think for him, he's just taking it day by day.
"He wants to learn. He's super inquisitive. He asks a lot of questions and is a real bright guy. I've been really impressed with him as a kid and obviously as a player, for sure."
For a prospect who has only logged one season of hockey in North America, Lysell has already put himself on an accelerated path to the pro ranks — especially after a postseason with the Vancouver Giants (WHL) in which he racked up 21 points (four goals, 17 assists) in just 12 games.
"I would say it's a different game,” Lysell said of making the jump from Sweden to North America last season. “It's more straightforward. Even though it was juniors, it was more straightforward, physical and all that. So I think it was a time of adjustment. But at the same time, I felt like you kind of get adjusted over time. You don't really try to think about it too much. You just try to go out there and play every game. I felt like, especially at the end of the year, it was better than in the beginning.”
Lysell, who will take part in the B’s upcoming Prospects Challenge tournament in Buffalo, acknowledged that his destination for the upcoming 2022-23 season is still up in the air — with the WHL, AHL and even the NHL all standing as viable destinations.
Given the way he closed out last season, another go-around with Vancouver does seem unlikely, although it still may be asking an awful lot for Lysell to skip a tier of competition and begin earning NHL reps in October.
Of course, the onus will fall on Lysell to influence the Bruins’ decision-making during camp. Even though the most-likely scenario will involve Lysell cutting his teeth down in Providence, where top-six minutes should be bountiful in the early going, that sentiment could change if the forward stuffs the stat sheet during his preseason reps against NHL competition.
A strong preseason for Lysell would create a sizable domino effect on Boston’s depth chart if the organization believes he’s ready for NHL reps from the get-go — whether that be potentially making Craig Smith expendable in a bottom-six role or even earning a top-six spot if a player like Pavel Zacha struggles on the first line.
The latter seems to be a viable scenario that the Bruins would embrace if Lysell seized the opportunity, based on Jim Montgomery’s comments last month on WEEI.
“This gives an opportunity. Like if Marchy's here, he probably doesn't have an opportunity, right,” Montgomery said of Lysell. “If he's gonna play in the NHL, he needs to play in the top six — get an opportunity to play with one of our elite centers and an opportunity to get the puck in places where he can do some damage. So if he has a great camp, he's going to get that opportunity. That's the great thing about the injury to Marchy is it opens up the door. Now he's got a knock through that door and that opportunity comes — you earn your way into the NHL.”
Of course, with only a few practices under his belt at Warrior, Lysell and the B’s top brass aren’t necessarily getting carried away right now. Even with his status as a blue-chip prospect, Lysell is the type of asset that one shouldn’t rush — and even with his high-end skill, there’s still plenty that Lysell will need to work on in order to develop into an all-around NHLer.
“I definitely think that you're always trying to use your strength to your advantage,” Lysell said of his mindset entering his second training camp. “I'm here for, as you said, my skillset with speed and creating chances and all that. But I also want to be here to work on your normal, all-around game. And I think it's definitely one of the best spots you can be in to learn and grow throughout that process here. So I'm just trying to take it day by day.”
For Bruins fans, it’s easy to be excited about the highlight-reel potential that a scoring winger like Lysell possesses. But as we noted time and time again this offseason, it’s better to be cautiously optimistic when it comes to top prospects, rather than shoulder young players with unfair expectations.
If Lysell needs some seasoning in the AHL to open the season, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise at all. And frankly, Lysell has the skillset to make a compelling case for a call-up by the middle of the winter if his offensive talents translate over to the American League.
But regardless of the end result from this training camp, one thing is clear when it comes to a talent like Lysell.
The Swede is finally knocking on the door for pro minutes. And it sure seems like the Bruins are going to give him every opportunity to try and topple that door down.
"I think he has a lot of the makings to be a player, so do a lot of the other guys too, right? I think how you approach the game, how you approach every day, that's a big part of the growth of the player,” Mougenel said of Lysell. “I get the opportunity to see guys at such a young age coming into the league. By the time they usually leave early, they're totally different in regards to their maturity and how they treat the game.
“I think he's already ahead of the curve in that department. I asked him the other day, I saw him in the hotel, and he's like, 'I'm so excited to get to training camp.' I had to say, 'You just stopped playing in the World Juniors three weeks ago.' So that's refreshing to see guys love the game as much as he does."
