Bruins prospect Fabian Lysell provides spark in NHL debutĀ
"Crazy how fast things can happen."
Fabian Lysell was bracing himself for another bus ride over to Hartford on Saturday morning.
Such is the usual weekend itinerary for players honing their craft in the AHL.
But the Bruins had other plans for their top prospect.
Hours ahead of puck drop between Boston and the Blue Jackets, the Bruins made the call to bring up Lysell from Providence.
After 136 regular-season games spent in Providence across three seasons, Lysell finally earned his shot up at hockey’s highest level.
“Crazy, crazy how fast things can happen,” Lysell said after Boston’s 4-0 win over Columbus. I woke up (Saturday) morning, didn’t think of this, and then you get a call and you’re up here so it’s just unbelievable and definitely special for me and my family and everybody that’s helped me along the way.”
With the Bruins in desperate need of a scoring spark, a player with Lysell’s playmaking prowess and wheels served as an appealing addition — especially on a bottom-six unit hindered with far too many passengers as of late between Trent Frederic, Oliver Wahlstrom, and others.
Even though he didn’t land on the scoresheet, Lysell made his presence felt in Boston’s bounce-back win — helping to set up Justin Brazeau’s opening tally just 2:29 into the contest.
Replacing Wahlstrom on a line with Frederic and Brazeau, Lysell’s skating ability helped set up a fortuitous O-zone shift for Boston’s forward grouping.
After Brazeau chipped a puck past a pair of Columbus skaters, Lysell turned on the afterburners, slipping past both players and recovering the puck in the Blue Jackets’ zone.
After protecting the puck down low, Lysell handed the biscuit back to Brazeau — who jumpstarted a low-to-high play with both Brandon Carlo and Mason Lohrei that ended with Brazeau knocking a rebound into twine for an early lead.
Lysell’s first shift as a Bruin didn’t led to a secondary assist, but the 21-year-old winger did the necessary legwork to get Boston’s stagnant offense rolling.
“I thought he handled himself well. It’s obviously an exciting night for him, his family. He was on the ice for the first goal, which is always a good feeling,” interim coach Joe Sacco said of Lysell’s night. “And then, he did some good things. He was very responsible. He was trying to be very responsible away from the puck.
“You could see he was making a conscious effort to be good without the puck, and those are the things that he needs to continue to build into his game. But I thought that he handled himself fine here tonight for his first game.”
It was far from a perfect night from Lysell, who registered zero shots on goal over 11:32 of ice time. He was even bumped off the third line over the final period of play in favor of Cole Koepke, who tallied his sixth goal of the season in the win.
But considering just how listless Boston’s previous third-line combination of Brazeau-Frederic-Wahlstrom had been over the past week, Lysell injected some much-needed pace and skill into an underachieving segment of the roster.
Over 20:22 of 5-on-5 reps this season, the Brazeau-Frederic-Wahlstrom line has been outshot, 9-2, and outscored, 1-0.
“There wasn’t really a person who could carry the play through the neutral zone between the blue lines,” Sacco said pregame of that third line. “Maybe that’s something that Fabian can add here tonight with his speed and his ability to transport the puck through the blue lines.
“That’s an opportunity there. There just wasn’t a lot happening with the three of those together. So obviously you have to make some changes and have to make some adjustments.”
Saturday’s debut was a long time coming for Lysell, but the timing was welcome for the young forward.
Lysell’s parents — Henrik and Maria — and sister, Frida, were already visiting from Sweden as part of their annual holiday visit to the U.S. to watch Fabian play for Providence. All three were in attendance for Saturday’s game at TD Garden.
“My whole family’s here. They came down for Christmas and they were actually going to go home I think tomorrow so it turned out well. … “That’s what it’s all about,” Lysell said of having his family in Boston for his debut. “They’ve been my biggest supporters throughout all the years I’ve been playing, and helping me with everything, driving me to the rink, cooking, all that stuff, late nights. So, it’s more so for them, honestly, than it is for me. It’s special.”
Time will tell if the Bruins will give Lysell a chance to build upon his promising debut.
Boston sent Lysell back down to Providence on Sunday afternoon, although it remains to be seen if it was more of a paper transaction to bank cap space or a planned roster reshuffle.
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