Boston Bruins’ Fabian Lysell Shows Promise Early This Preseason – Hockey Writers – Boston Bruins

For some players, the preseason is a frenzy, and it’s all about getting game reps in before the regular season starts. For some players, the preseason is about their fight for success back in the NHL or, in some cases, doing it for the first time.

The Boston Bruins’ top prospect, Fabian Lysell, for the first time since being drafted in 2021, finally got a shot at the end.

Related: 3 Bruins Prospects Who Could Make Their NHL Debuts This Season

Going into the preseason, the Bruins had several vacant spots on the wings left by Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, and Jakub Lauko, who either left in free agency or were traded during the offseason. Lysell could easily fit into any of those three areas.

The two vacant linebacker spots will be filled by Max Jones and Riley Tufte, who were signed to two-year and one-year contracts in the offseason, respectively. This leaves the third spot to be taken by other offseason signings or by Lysell himself, in this writer’s eyes, earned it.

Lysell’s Second Preseason Game Made a Statement

Through two preseason games, Lysell’s stats won’t pop off the page and give him space. However, his second preseason game should definitely be eye-opening and give Boston general manager Don Sweeney something to think about as the preseason wears on.

In the Bruins’ second preseason game against the Washington Capitals, Lysell scored the Bruins’ second goal of the game, putting them up 2–0 at the time, and was named the second star of the game. Boston forward Georgii Merkulov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo were named the games third star and first star, respectively, but being named a second star is something Lysell should be proud of.

Fabian with some dirt 🎯 pic.twitter.com/5MYfw5uvKR

– Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) September 25, 2024

Now, it wasn’t the goal itself that made Lysell’s game stand out Tuesday night, but the timing of his goal. Yes, it was early in the second half, which is good too, but that’s not the point of emphasis here. The emphasis, however, is on the bottom line of the power play.

For the 2023-24 season, Boston’s power play ranked 14th in the NHL. 14th is by no means a bad placement idea, but to be successful, especially in the Eastern Conference, it is very important to have a power play that can be counted on.

Lysell also turned some heads in Tuesday night’s game with his ability to stay on the ice for long periods of time, especially in man-up. He led the Bruins in ice time with 4:04, was second in turnovers to Tufte with 21, and was 11 seconds behind Tufte with 17:35 of total ice time.

With these numbers, Lysell is looking to show Boston management that he is healthy and ready to go this season. Not only that but he can also take on roles that he hasn’t seen in years.

Lysell is skating on thin ice (pun intended) and consistency will be key if he wants to stay off the trade block and make the NHL roster to begin the season. However, that’s enough trade block talk as there are positives to take away from his play thus far. However, it’s too early in the preseason to say anything for sure, as Boston has only played two games so far.

Now, if Lysell regresses late in the preseason — or if he stays at the same level of production — it may be time for Sweeney to have another conversation. However, at this point, Lysell will likely participate in all of the preseason games, barring injury, and be reevaluated at the end of the preseason as to where he should be placed.

What Do Bruins Really Want Out of Lysell?

It’s hard to know exactly what the Bruins expect Lysell to be, but so far, he’s making it known at least looking for to stay at the NHL level.

Boston has the aforementioned Tufte and Jones to fill two of the three open wing spots, but what holds them back is that they both shoot from the left and that is something that could play to Lysell’s advantage, especially if he continues to play. well throughout the pre-season.

It’s possible that Boston wants Lysell to have two things going for him going into this season: the first is that he’s healthy, and the second is that he’s playing, not elite, but at least, high level. .

So far Lysell looks healthy, and, on top of that, he’s willing to go to the dirty spots, a big change from last preseason. He is playing at a high level again, scoring goals in just the second pre-season game, something he was unable to do during pre-season last season.

Lysell doesn’t look perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but she seems to have improved so far. Right now it’s up to him to prove he’s ready for the NHL.

The Bruins are back at it on Thursday, September 26 when they face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Puck drop is at 7:00 pm