With a recent recall to Boston to gauge progress by, winger Oskar Steen acquitted himself well in the NHL. He even registered his first point with an assist on Jake DeBrusk's goal against the San Jose Sharks, and while he was sent back down to the AHL later that week, he sent a positive message to the Bruins about what he's capable of.
Steen, drafted in 2016, may be undersized but he brings an underrated offensive skill set, and with his strong lower body, looks like he might be a hidden gem in the team's checkered draft history in recent years.
The team’s last pick (165th overall) in Buffalo (Don Sweeney traded his seventh-rounder that year), leads the Providence Bruins in scoring with 3 goals and 6 points in 4 AHL games. He’s breaking out in his third North American campaign after a standout scoring season with Farjestads BK Karlstad in 2019.
That year, he scored 17 goals and 37 points in 46 games in Sweden’s top pro league. While those numbers may not look like anything to write home about in North America, context is everything. Steen finished second on his team in scoring at age 20, but he was seven years younger than leading scorer Jesse Virtanen (41 points) and played six fewer games than the veteran defender did. The SHL’s leading scorer that year put up 50 points, and Steen would have led six other teams in the 14-club league in scoring.
Now, B’s fans are starting to see what Steen is capable of.
He’s a quick, but powerful skater who reads the play well and uses his speed and offensive instincts to counterattack aggressively with the puck. His acceleration and agility allow him to separate from opponents in the neutral zone as he gathers speed, then gain clean zone entries because of his momentum and deft puckhandling touch.
Steen’s best asset is his shot. He hides his release point and can unload a heavy drive while on the move/off the rush or fire quick snap shots in close.
He does a good job of using opponents as screens and has no problem getting to the greasy areas where most of the effort plays are made. With his low center of gravity and thick legs and torso, he can roll off of checks while keeping his feet and has surprised more than a few defenders with his ability to maintain possession after solid body contact.
Steen just needs to be patient at this time, as his game is best suited for the top two lines. He has a future on Boston’s third unit, but given the current depth chart, there is no need to rush him to action. He played sparingly in his last call up, but showed the Boston coaching staff and management that he isn’t out of place.
Given his status as a late draft pick, it appears that the B’s may have found themselves real value later on. As such, the team can afford to be a little more patient.
Outlook: Steen looks like a winner. If more injuries hit the Boston forwards, look for him to get another shot with the big club this season. He’s putting himself in position to be a roster regular in 2022-23 if something doesn’t happen to give him an earlier opportunity than that. He’s got the makings of a solid third-line NHLer with some sneaky eventual upside on line 2.
Ahcan takes next step, another NCAA free agent find for B's
Jack Ahcan is second on the Baby B’s in scoring with a goal and 5 points in 7 games.
The diminutive but fast, skilled and smart Minnesotan is doing the right kind of developing in Providence. There is no need for him to be up in Boston at this time, so long as Matt Grzelcyk is healthy and playing the NHL role he’s earned. Like Grzelcyk, however, Ahcan is making the same kind of case that the Charlestown, Mass. native did: if the situation arises, the Bruins can bring him up and expect similar production/success.
An undrafted free agent, the bet here is that Boston has once again figured out how to compensate for a lack of volume draft picks and pick position to find a serviceable if undersized 2-way defenseman with some intriguing upside. He moves so well, but also sees the ice, competes and is learning to play with a smarter stick and not try to win physical matchups he’s at a disadvantage with.
The B’s have gotten some important contributions from its staff and its college scouting operation. Between associate amateur scouting director Ryan Nadeau, director of player development Jamie Langenbrunner, college scouting chief Scott Fitzgerald and former Bruins forward Brett Harkins, Boston has been ahead of many others around the NHL when it comes to finding unheralded talent out of the NCAA ranks.
Whether you’re talking about Torey Krug, who was the best undrafted free agent signing of the past decade, or the recently retired Kevan Miller, both were captains of their college teams who signed on with Boston after being draft snubs.
After Krug and Miller, the B's persisted, adding free agents like Noel Acciari, Frank Vatrano (traded to Florida for the pick that turned into Jakub Lauko),  Austin Czarnik, Karson Kuhlman and Connor Clifton (drafted by Florida but unsigned out of Quinnipiac University). While none are Hall of Fame talents, Boston has effectively mined the NCAA ranks for players who have made a contribution.
Ahcan is the latest example of a player who has already gotten some NHL games under his belt, but the best could be yet to come.
Furthermore, if you attended Boston’s development camp this past August, then another future impact player or two could be coming down the pipeline from the college ranks later in spring. Camp attendees in the past like Drew O’Connor and Mike Hardman (Hanover, Mass.) are both in the NHL, and the latest batch of 2021 prospects looked pretty decent. Ahcan never attended a Boston development camp before signing, but the B’s got their man anyway.
Stay tuned to see what transpires when college seasons start to end, and key players decide to turn pro. Boston’s college scouting crew will likely be in the thick of things.
Four for Lysell
2021 first-rounder Fabian Lysell is settling in with the Vancouver Giants, posting a four-point game over the weekend. That now gives him 2 goals and 8 points in 5 games, good for second in scoring on his club behind Florida Panthers third-rounder in 2020 Justin Sourdif. The latter is a British Columbia native and veteran in his fourth WHL season with the Giants.
Lysell’s explosive speed and dynamic offensive dimension is well documented here (deep link) but he’s also starting to figure out how to better protect himself from taking big hits on the smaller North American ice surfaces.
As good as Lysell has looked, this is the right situation for him. Playing major junior hockey is giving him the opportunity to see top minutes and its starting to click for him.  Not that he could put up 50 points by now and it would matter. Because he’s been assigned to the WHL, he can’t be recalled to the AHL or NHL until his season is over. He’s there to stay. At least, until the spring of 2022, depending on how far his Giants club gets in the WHL playoffs, that is.
