The Boston Bruins announced Monday that they had come to terms on an entry-level contract with Fabian Lysell, the team’s top choice in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
The native of Frolunda, Sweden, was slated to play the 2021-22 season in the Swedish Hockey League with Lulea, but the B’s had other plans, getting him on a max contract that will pay him a base of $925,000 per season. Like David Pastrnak seven years ago, the team must have felt that getting him over to North America was in their best interest, though we should hold off making any other assumptions that Lysell is on the same path to the NHL as Boston’s 25-year-old superstar.
“The Bruins are excited to have signed Fabian to his first NHL contract,” said Bruins GM Don Sweeney in a team release. “Fabian is a talented young player, and we look forward to working with Fabian throughout the development process.”
Lysell, who posted a photo of him signing his deal on Instagram, said that he “couldn’t be more happy to join such a distinguished organization.”
https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1424823747404574724?s=20
Where will Lysell play in 2021-22?
The biggest takeaway from the signing is that in order to get Lysell out of the one year remaining on his SHL contract, the B’s had to buy it out. This likely means he is not ticketed for major junior this season, as his rights are held by the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, the team that produced former B’s power forward Milan Lucic. Boston is heavily invested in the 21st overall selection who was widely believed to be a sure top-15 pick in the draft until he slid to the Bruins over concerns about maturity and attitude.
While the decision to not have Lysell play out his existing deal in Sweden raises eyebrows, it’s all lining up for him to be in the AHL with the Providence Bruins this season.
One source told New England Hockey Journal that he has a “chip the size of Sweden on his shoulder” over what happened at the draft and wants to prove his worth to the B’s. He has a strong relationship with P.J. Axelsson, who was instrumental in scouting and vetting Lysell. Axelsson was a fan favorite in his NHL career, entirely spent in Boston, so you have to extend the benefit of the doubt to Lysell. Axelsson would not have vouched for him if he thought the kid would be a cancer. Make no mistake, getting a player of Lysell's caliber where the Bruins did doesn't typically happen unless there are some issues, so he represents tremendous value at that spot with a high-end NHL ceiling if he can hit it.
What does this signing mean for the Bruins?
Assuming he is in Providence and not the WHL, where he would likely torch the 16-20-year-olds he’d be up against, the B’s have put their organization’s top prospect on the faster track to one day play for the big club.
Lysell’s pure speed, lightning-quick hands and scorer’s mindset will electrify the ice whenever he’s on it, but as we saw from him recently at the WJSS, he needs to be able to demonstrate he can be more of a consistent finisher. You can’t put much stock into that set of exhibition games, but at the same time, he didn’t produce much offense as fourth-line role player for Lulea this past season, so fans should temper expectations a bit. Where Pastrnak was a regular scorer for his Sodertalje team in his draft year but hampered by injuries that greatly contributed to his draft day drop to Boston, Lysell did not enjoy the same level of production and success.
Still, having him in the organization where he can be coached and developed right away should speed up the timeline for him to make his NHL debut and allow the organization to prevent any bad habits from creeping into his game. Playing against top competition will be key for Lysell and should the B’s have any issues up front with injuries, don’t be surprised to see him get the chance to get his feet wet in the NHL, though it is way early to confidently predict that.
One thing is for certain, when it comes to Lysell however: he is not Pastrnak. It will be a treat for fans to see him this fall at the team’s training camp and likely in Providence afterwards, but don’t expect an instant explosion of offense and top-level play. You’re definitely going to notice him with his blazing wheels, but he also has a lot to work on. His hands are overly busy with the puck, and he has yet to learn that he needs to downshift and slow things down at times to make the right play. Not every second of every shift needs to be played at warp speed.
New England Hockey Journal prediction: The Lysell era begins a year earlier than expected, but because he’s a top draft pick and prospect, he will generate a palpable buzz with the B’s. He instantly makes Providence a more dangerous team up front, and will be in good hands with Boston’s player development staff. We suspect he’ll see a few NHL games, and even if he doesn’t, that big league debut won’t be far away.
Bruce Cassidy to the 2022 Olympic Games
In other team news, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy was named to Team Canada's men's hockey coaching staff at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Cassidy will be part of a distinguished group of coaches including head coach and two-time Stanley Cup-winning champion Jon Cooper with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The other assistant coaches announced by Canada are Peter DeBoer (Vegas Golden Knights) and Barry Trotz (NY Islanders). If hockey had an equivalent organization to Mensa, all would be members in good standing.
