Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery gave a rare public call-out today to one of the team’s young prospects. Scott McLaughlin of The Skate Pod shared a quote from Montgomery regarding forward Fabian Lysell saying, “he needs to do a little more than he’s done if he wants to make the Bruins“.
Lysell skated in 14:56 of the Bruins’ preseason loss on Sunday to the New York Rangers. The 21-year-old Swede played right wing for Boston on the team’s third line and didn’t find his name on the scoresheet as he failed to even put a shot on goal. The former 21st overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft is looking to crack the Bruins’ roster this season after totaling 110 regular season games for the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.
He’s been productive in the AHL with 29 goals and 87 points over two years in Providence. The major factor working against Lysell is that Boston is again one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference heading into the 2024-25 NHL season and the top-six of their forward core is largely set in stone. Lysell doesn’t have much flexibility to his game meaning the Bruins don’t have the confidence to plug him into the team’s bottom six.
Other Atlantic notes:
- A few new members of the Bruins are nursing mild injuries with Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub reporting that forwards Elias Lindholm and Max Jones are both day-to-day this week and likely won’t play. Lindholm signed a long-term seven-year $54.25MM contract with Boston this summer and is expected to take over first-line minutes for the team down the middle with Pavel Zacha being moved to the wing. Jones joined the Bruins on a two-year, $2MM pact after being non-tendered by the Anaheim Ducks and is expected to be a physical player Boston can plug into their bottom six.
- Former Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark is dealing with an ailment but he’s not expected to be out long-term. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen reports the Ottawa Senators are being cautious with their new netminder but he is “going to be fine”. The Senators are eager for Ullmark to fill a major void on the roster this season as the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner posted a .924 SV% in 130 games for Boston from 2021-2024.