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Fabian Lysell set to get another shot with Bruins
"Like you said, I thought I played pretty good. But that’s how it is. Now I’m back.”
Fabian Lysell hasn’t had much time to stake his claim to an NHL roster spot.
Despite his standing as a 2021 first-round pick and profile of a skilled scoring threat, Lysell has only logged one game in the NHL ranks since signing his entry-level deal with Boston in August 2021.
In his only game with Boston on Dec. 28, 2024, Lysell jumpstarted Boston’s opening tally against the Blue Jackets, using his skating ability to recover a skittering puck along the boards and gain possession in the offensive zone.
He wasn’t credited with an assist in the subsequent low-to-high sequence that ended with a Justin Brazeau rebound tally. But it was an encouraging result for a player in Lysell seemingly set to marinate in Providence for the long haul.
The following day, Lysell was reassigned back to Providence, where he spent another 25 games with the P-Bruins.
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“Yeah, I mean obviously you want to stick around, of course,” Lysell said Tuesday at Warrior Ice Arena of the frustrations of being sent down again. “Like you said, I thought I played pretty good. But that’s how it is. Now I’m back.”
With a floundering Bruins team — both in need of a spark and on the prowl for future contributors — set to embark on a five-game road trip, Lysell was called up again on Tuesday alongside fellow Providence skater Michael Callahan.
Lysell was candid about the frustrations born out of his short cup of coffee with Boston in December. Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco noted that the 22-year-old forward has seemingly made strides as of late against AHL competition.
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“The reports from Providence are all positive as far as his game down there, and not just offensively, but his 200-foot game — his play away from the puck, his ability to stay on pucks, things that we need to see from some of the young players,” Sacco said. “So I think it’s good that he’s getting an opportunity, and at some point we’ll see him in the lineup here on this upcoming road trip.”
The case can be made that Lysell has been overcooked at this stage of his growth with the Bruins, having logged 161 games (121 points) across three seasons in Providence.
Ironing out the finer details of Lysell’s game has long been a sticking point in the Swedish winger’s development, while a lackluster training camp last fall and a dip in production this year in Providence (11 goals, 34 points in 51 games) hasn’t done the playmaker any favors when it comes to earning an earlier call-up.
But as the Bruins’ playoff odds continue to dwindle, now stands as the ideal window for Boston to gauge which assets could conceivably pull on the rope in 2025-26.
Much like how Boston has seen the promise found in Marat Khusnutdinov’s high motor, Casey Mittelstadt’s playmaking touch, and Henri Jokiharju’s puck-moving capabilities as of late, the Bruins would be well-served to see if Lysell has more to offer at the next level over these final four weeks of regular-season play.
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The jury might still be out on whether or not Lysell has the mettle to be a regular NHLer. But his straight-line speed and slick hands could complement a pivot like Elias Lindholm or Mittelstadt, a development that would be welcome for a Bruins roster short on high-end talent at this juncture of the season.
“I’ll go out there and try and play my game,” Lysell said of his mindset ahead of Boston’s extended road trip. “I feel good about my game right now. Hopefully I can contribute out there whenever I get that opportunity to play.”
An emerging voice
It was less than two years that Morgan Geekie put pen to paper on a two-year, $4 million contract with Boston.
But with Boston’s dressing room undergoing significant turnover amid its current retool, the 26-year-old Geekie has suddenly become an elder statesmen on a roster in transition.
Despite his seemingly limited stint thus far with Boston, only David Pastrnak (743) and Pavel Zacha (229) have logged more games in a black-and-gold sweater than Geekie (140) on the team’s active roster.
Beyond Boston’s deadline decisions to deal away lineup regulars in former captain Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, and Brandon Carlo, injuries to two of Boston’s remaining defensive stalwarts in Charlie McAvoy (504 games played) and Hampus Lindholm (180 games) have further sapped some of the stability and leadership on a team looking to set a new foundation in the coming years.
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Geekie has his own future to chart out this summer as a pending restricted free agent, although his chemistry with Pastrnak and Boston’s decision to keep him out of the deadline fire sale signals that the Bruins ideally view him as a key cog in their reworked roster moving forward.
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And given the void of established voices in Boston’s room, Geekie feels comfortable stepping into a larger role moving forward.
“I think I’m just trying to fill in the gaps, do what I can — lead in my own way, per se, and just try to be someone that people can talk to. … We’ve got a lot of great leaders in this room and some guys that are out. But yeah, it’s definitely — we’re not trying to be short-sighted by any means,” Geekie said Monday night of building for the future. “We want to finish the year off strong.
“But big picture, I think relationships start now — and if you can keep growing those things, I think it’ll help down the road.”
Loose Pucks
Beyond the call-up of Callahan from Providence, don’t expect any additional reinforcements on the blue line for Boston this week. Sacco confirmed Tuesday that McAvoy will not travel with the team on this upcoming road trip.
Elias Lindholm did not practice on Tuesday, with Sacco labeling it as a maintenance day.
Despite Boston’s three-game losing skid, Sacco is still harping on the positives with Boston’s dwindling playoff odds.
“The games in hand, sure, you can look at that,” Sacco said of Boston’s spot in the Eastern Conference standings. “But you can also just look at three points right now. That’s what’s separating us from the last wild-card spot right now, as we stand here today.”
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