Fabian Lysell has been knocking on the door of an NHL debut for the last few seasons. But he has yet to crack the Bruins roster. Boston’s top prospect, though, was close to getting the call to the big leagues this past season.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft, general manager Don Sweeney revealed Lysell likely would have gotten the opportunity later in the season had he not suffered a concussion toward the end of the AHL regular season.
“We were really excited about where Fabian’s trajectory and year was trending until — I don’t know if anybody saw it — it was a violent collision,” Sweeney said. “He really dinged the shoulder up, had a concussion. And good on him, he came back and actually played in the playoffs but didn’t feel 100% comfortable. And the timeline — it was easily going to be a six week (timeline) from the time that we saw it.
“So we were really excited about where he was tracking. And in all likelihood, if he continued along that path and stayed healthy, would have gotten an opportunity up top like a lot of other guys did because he played that well,” he continued. “So now he’s gotta hit the reset button and have a really good offseason and come back with the intention that he knows how well he can play. He knows how much we were proud of the steps he had taken.”
BetMGM BET UP TO $1,500! BONUS BET REFUND AFTER A LOSS
STATES: AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21 years of age or older to wager. MA Only. New Customer Offer. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets. Bonus bets expire 7 days from issuance. In Partnership with MGM Springfield. Play it smart from the start with GameSense. GameSenseMA.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org. US Promotional Offers not available in New York.
Lysell’s injury occurred in March during Providence’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Charlotte Checkers when he appeared to lose an edge and crash into the boards. Lysell needed help getting off the ice. He returned in time for one playoff game.
It was the second documented concussion the prospect suffered. The first came in May 2023.
The Bruins drafted Lysell in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He had a strong training camp last year, but Sweeney noted the team wants him to continue to “work on his complete game.”
“One-on-one skill stuff and some of the things you can do to change the game are really good. Just got to continue to build his team game as (Jim Montgomery) would describe it,” he said. “And have a better understanding of when you might push that envelope when to not. The risk reward that you know most high skill players are going to have to go through.”
Lysell will certainly be a player to watch throughout this year’s training camp as he looks to make the roster and be part of the Bruins when they open their 2024-25 season.
