It was just a short time ago that Boston Bruins fans were anticipating the top prospect in the organization joining the next core of the Bruins and dazzling the crowd with great speed and elite offensive skill. Fabian Lysell was drafted 21st overall in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft. During the 2021-22 season, the smooth-skating forward totaled 62 points in 53 games with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League and was brilliant in the postseason with 21 points. The sky was the limit for Lysell, who flashed some of his best explosive talents in Bruins rookie camp in the summer of 2022.
Lysell had an up-and-down season in the American Hockey League with Providence and scored 14 goals with 23 assists in 54 games. A concussion in the postseason led to an anticlimactic end to the Swede’s season. Some lingering effects led to Lysell being in and out of action in Bruins rookie camp this summer as well. But in training camp, Lysell participated and played for the Bruins and suited up for the first preseason game in which the 20-year-old played 16:53 of ice time with three shots on net.
Lysell then played in the Bruins’ fifth exhibition game against Philadelphia and played 15:32 on the ice with a little over a minute of power play time and was a minus-1. For the third year in a row, Lysell was released from the camp and is now headed for Providence again. The emergence of 2022 draft pick Matthew Poitras has overshadowed Lysell, with Poitras still on the roster with a chance to make the Bruins opening night lineup. Lysell has long been the unanimous number-one prospect in the Boston organization, but it might be that Poitras and defenseman Mason Lohrei have surpassed Lysell.
So what now for Lysell? Some of the novelty has worn off with the 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward, and the focus is now on whether Lysell can have a dominant season in Providence. It is likely that the right wing will play on a line with Georgii Merkulov as his center. Last season, the two developed some chemistry and that should help Lysell’s production. But at the end of the day, Lysell will have to improve on last year and become one of the top players in the AHL. The Bruins will be counting on him to take on a role with the parent club next season.
Could Lysell get some time in Boston this season? Sure. But it seems like that opportunity might be further away than some people thought. It is not time to panic just yet, but this is a big year for the Bruins’ former number-one prospect.
