By: Theo Lander | Follow me on Twitter @lander_theo
Unfortunately, Boston Bruins fans will have to wait until at least Wednesday, October 5, before they get another glimpse of their new favorite Swede, Fabian Lysell.
At the start of the second period of the scoreless game, Lysell was on the receiving end of a hit by Flyer’s defenseman Rasmus Ristolaine along the boards. The official halted play immediately as Lysell was curled up on the ice, but he quickly rose on his own power and skated off the ice, doubled over in pain. Fabian would not return to the game for the Bruins, and his team would score four unanswered goals and win the game 4-0. Bruins center Taylor Hall also left the game with an upper-body injury and did not return for the rest of the game.
On Sunday, the Bruin’s new head coach Jim Montgomery updated the masses on Lysell’s status following their matinee victory.
“Lysell’s day-to-day, we’re not going to play him tomorrow, but we’re hoping and most likely (Lysell will be) probable for Wednesday. Taylor Hall is week-to-week; it’s a little bit more significant, the upper-body injury than we expected yesterday.” Montgomery then jokingly added on Hall’s status, “He better not be playing golf.”
Lysell got the nod over right wing David Pastrnak so Montgomery could see the youngster play alongside the top six forwards. Before the injury, Lysell registered two shots and one hit in 5:29 TOI. Montgomery also gave Lysell a look on the power play. Lysell will miss the game against the Devils on Monday but could be back in the line-up when the black and gold face the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden.
Through two games of this NHL preseason, 19-year-old Lysell has yet to pop up on the scoresheet, tallying just four shots on goal thus far. While widely regarded as an offensive dynamo, Lysell may have encountered some growing pains at the NHL level. He has shown flashes of brilliance in competition and has a ton of potential, but Lysell just hasn’t gotten the results one would be hoping to see out of him at this point for him to make the NHL roster.
With seemingly one or two more chances to see Lysell play before the end of the preseason, it seems evident that Fabian will join the AHL squad down in Providence for this upcoming season. While he potentially has more upside than his contemporaries, his rookie teammates Marc McLaughlin and Johnny Beecher have done more to earn their spot on the NHL roster. Mclaughlin and Beecher scored two goals on Saturday to elevate the Bruins to victory over Philadelphia.
Lysell is fresh off of a solid performance at the World Junior Championships, where he tallied two goals and four assists in seven games for team Sweden. Before then, he had a stellar rookie year with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, where he posted 22 goals and 40 assists for 62 points in 53 games. Lysell followed that up with an even better post-season run with the Giants, contributing four goals and 17 assists, totaling 21 points in just twelve games. He was formerly drafted at 21st overall by the Boston Bruins in 2021.
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