At the start of last season, 2021 Bruins first-round pick Fabian Lysell was in a comfortable spot.
Then 17, the right wing was living in his hometown, Goteborg, at his parents’ house. He was playing junior hockey for a premier organization, Frolunda. He had risen up the organizational ranks, dominating competition a few years older. He was considered one of the brightest prospects in Swedish hockey.
Through the first few weeks of the year, he remained on Frolunda’s under-20 team. When the junior league paused over COVID-19 concerns, Lysell believed he could play with the men in the Swedish Hockey League, and had 13 points in 11 games to help bolster his case. The organization wanted to look at other prospects.
So Lysell took a controversial step: He asked for a transfer. That rarely happens among players of his age.
“The Swedish mentality,” said his former U-16 national coach, Anders Lundberg, “is don’t stand out.”
Frolunda agreed to send Lysell to a team nearly 1,000 miles north in Lulea, near the Arctic Circle. Lysell went from his Boston-like birthplace to a Laplandic outpost that, while pleasant in the summer, remains dark for around 20 hours each day in the winter. Living on his own and playing against men for the first time, he wound up sleeping a lot when he wasn’t at the rink.
“That’s a transition that’s tough,” Lysell said after the Bruins selected him 21st overall on July 23. “It’s really competitive and you’ve got to be prepared for each game. That was obviously a jump to do, but I really enjoyed doing that for sure, and just being in that environment with the older guys and learning from them has helped me a lot.”
Frolunda, considered one of the power organizations in Swedish hockey, was miffed about losing a potential top-10 NHL pick to a competitor. Word got around. Lysell had a label.
On draft night, commentators in North America were chalking up Lysell’s slide to 21 to “character concerns.”
“Teams don’t necessarily like strong-minded young men,” said his North American representative, Gerry Johannson, who has been working with Lysell for the last year. “They like yes sir, no sir, whatever you want me to do sir. In my experience, the best players are strong-minded. That gets interpreted differently when you’re young.
“There is nothing wrong with this guy’s character. He’s a great kid. He left Frolunda for a very good hockey reason. They weren’t happy about it. That was a narrative that was completely incorrect. He didn’t deserve that. But he dealt with it.”
The situation may have helped the Bruins get a steal. Lysell, ranked as high as third in the draft class (by Dobber Prospects) and regularly in the top 10 of online mock drafts, fell outside the top 20.
The Bruins reported zero issues with Lysell’s personality. They believe that all prospects who learn at the feet of Patrice Bergeron and Co. will fare well. They also haven’t drafted a forward with this kind of skill since David Pastrnak fell into their laps at No. 25 in 2014.
A review of his game footage shows Lysell, built like a younger Pastrnak at 5 feet 10 inches and 172 pounds, attacking defenders with similar enthusiasm. Lysell has one gear, and he mashes the pedal. Adding more downshifting ability will help him steer around smarter Swedish Hockey League defenders. More size and strength is his ticket to the NHL.
The Bruins have yet to announce plans for Lysell, who is under contract with Lulea for two more years. This fall, he is likely to rejoin a roster that includes goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt, drafted by Minnesota one slot before Lysell, and forward Joonas Rask, Tuukka Rask’s younger brother. In Canadian juniors, the WHL’s Vancouver Giants hold Lysell’s rights.
He will not attend Bruins Development Camp at Warrior Ice Arena this Monday through Friday, but an invite to Boston or Providence camp seems like an outside possibility.
Former Bruins forward P.J. Axelsson, now the club’s director of European scouting, was hesitant to make the comparison to Pastrnak, who also developed in Sweden and made a splash here months after he was drafted.
“I have to be careful, because Pasta is a superstar in the NHL,” Axelsson said. “But at the same age, they are similar. They both really want to win hockey games, they’re both really competitive, and they love to score goals. Hopefully Fabian can do what Pasta did and develop the same way.”
Does Axelsson, whose two-way game and easy smile earned him fan-favorite status in Boston some 20 years ago, see any of himself in Lysell?
“First of all, he has a lot more skill than I ever had,” said Axelsson, a Frolunda legend whose image hangs in the team’s training center. “Might not backcheck as much, but he’s a highly skilled forward that skates really well. He can create offense. That’s his main thing. He also has an underrated shot that he should use a little bit more. We’re going to work on that.”
Lundberg, now director of player development for the Swedish Ice Hockey Association, mused that generally, the country’s culture shuns freewheeling creativity. When he coached Lysell on the U-16 and U-18 national teams, he did the opposite.
“He’s an artist,” Lundberg said. “Of course, he needs to work in the system. But you need to let him loose a little bit. He sees things on the ice that as a coach I wouldn’t see. So I let him loose, let him play his game. That’s when he contributes best to the team.”
With Lulea, Lysell spent a few weeks practicing and debuted in December. He averaged 7:36 per night on the lower lines, chipping in two goals and one assist in 26 games.
“He’s like a racehorse,” said Johannson. “He just wants to run. But he’s hooked up to a plow.”
Days before his 18th birthday in January, Lysell scored his first Swedish Hockey League goal against the Frolunda squad he didn’t make, curling into the slot, hiding the puck in a defenseman’s skates and stick before firing upstairs on a screened goalie.
“His offensive skills are unbelievable,” said fellow Bruins draftee Oskar Jellvik, a fifth-rounder (149th overall) who played against Lysell in juniors. “When he comes off the rush, against the defense, he’s going to toe drag, put it between his legs, put it in the top corner.”
It all stems from his skating. Lysell has near-flawless mechanics, for which his mother, Maria, deserves much of the credit. She is a former synchronized figure skater who, before her two children were born, recalled competing at a tournament in Boston. She later watched Fabian as a toddler try to emulate his mom’s one-legged blade balance during playtime on ice. He soon found hockey skates, a stick and puck, and began going after older kids.
“Off the ice he’s very relaxed,” said a close friend, William Hallen, a 19-year-old forward for the Frolunda juniors who has known Lysell since grade school and considers him a younger brother. “He can switch off and on when it’s game time — there, it’s life or death for him.”
Now a management consultant, Maria Lysell also serves on the board of the Gothenburg chapter of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association, and is chairman of the leadership training committee. Her goals, in lockstep with the parent organization, are to modernize the “macho culture” of hockey. She believes leaders should be “inclusive, non-bullying, and courageous.”
“When you don’t stick out your chin, you won’t get hit that much,” she said. “Fabian hasn’t decided to do that. He says, I want to walk my own path. Not saying, I’m going to have sharp elbows and kill people along the way, not like that. But if he feels that a certain direction is good for him, he’s going to stand up and defend that.”
Maria and her husband supported their son’s transfer.
“It’s not very evident in his personality to be patient,” she said from their summer cottage in Skafto, on the west coast of Sweden. “When we played Monopoly when he was a little kid, he always found a way to win. When he played sports, he had a bad temper when he didn’t win.”
But, she noted, he often won.
CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE
Eichel doesn’t seem like option
Nick Foligno, Charlie Coyle, Erik Haula … come on down.
The Bruins appear to be starting with a center-by-committee approach to the second line, as Don Sweeney hinted may happen. The departure of David Krejci all but confirmed it.
That’s if, of course, Sweeney doesn’t somehow engineer a Jack Eichel trade. The pride of North Chelmsford, clad in Buffalo blue, was skating in view of the Bruins’ war room during Wednesday’s free agent frenzy, taking part in a skate at Warrior Ice Arena with Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, and others. It may be as close as he ever gets to playing in Boston.
Eichel, still in need of neck surgery and carrying a $10 million salary-cap hit through 2026, doesn’t seem like a Spoked-B option in the immediate future, unless Sweeney can clear a little money. The Bruins had a projected $1 million in cap space entering the weekend.
With Patrice Bergeron a free agent next summer, and Eichel’s no-move clause in place then, would that be the time to try to swing a deal with the Sabres? Or will Eichel essentially force his way to Boston, a la Hall?
If the Bruins needed immediate help at center, maybe Sweeney could bring in Christian Dvorak from Arizona for DeBrusk and picks. The latter would get his fresh start in a place he knows well, and the Bruins could plug the 25-year-old Dvorak ($4.45 million through 2025) into the No. 2 center hole.
Worth considering, if the Bruins do go center by committee: Krejci, 36 in April, didn’t file retirement papers with the NHL.
“With Charlie Coyle coming off [knee] surgery — again, we wanted to identify players, and really two-positional players — in Nick Foligno’s case, a three-position player — all of them good on draws, all of them on the penalty kill,” Sweeney said recently. “Several of them have played power-play situations and providing depth throughout our lineup was really important.”
ETC.
Updating where the teams stand
So much for a flat-cap environment depressing free agent activity. According to CapFriendly, the first two days of the market saw teams sign 208 contracts for some $918 million in contract dollars, and $332 million in cap hits.
Where the league stands after the dust settled (tiers in alphabetical order):
Contenders
Boston — Lots of depth up front. Still not sure if they’re better, given Krejci loss.
Carolina — Made up for the Alex Nedeljkovic loss by adding Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta. If they’re healthy, that’s a strong tandem. Replaced Dougie Hamilton with Tony DeAngelo, yet another reminder that hockey is a business, no matter how hard a team’s PR staff works.
Colorado — Lost a Vezina finalist (Philipp Grubauer to Seattle) and may have gotten better in goal. Darcy Kuemper, ex- of Arizona, is an upgrade.
Florida — A dangerous team. Still hasn’t signed Aleksander Barkov, but folks there are convinced it’ll get done.
NY Islanders — I suppose they’re in this tier? Lou Lamoriello has done nothing publicly of late.
Philadelphia — Cam Atkinson and Ryan Ellis were solid pickups, and maybe Keith Yandle has something left. None of it matters if Carter Hart (unsigned) doesn’t rebound.
Pittsburgh — Love its chances in the Metropolitan Division if Ron Hextall can send a few assets to Chicago for Marc-Andre Fleury. Can’t waste another year of Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin with subpar goaltending.
Tampa Bay — More cap wizardry by acquiring the Brent Seabrook contract for Tyler Johnson. Will take a slight step back after losing its entire third line.
Toronto — Petr Mrazek is adequate. Not sure how it can afford Morgan Rielly’s next deal (UFA in 2022).
Vegas -— Still without a true No. 1 center, but Evgenii Dadonov gives the Golden Knights another scoring winger. Will they miss Fleury?
Hopefuls
Calgary — Blake Coleman for six years? Love the player and term ($4.9 million), but that’ll turn into a James Neal contract.
Chicago — Not a huge Seth Jones fan, but the Blackhawks will compete for the playoffs if Fleury wants to play there.
Dallas — Got Ryan Suter at a good price, and he’ll probably be on long-term injured reserve when his contract ends at age 40.
Edmonton — Zach Hyman is a major upgrade, but there’s still not enough on this roster.
Los Angeles — Phillip Danault ($5.5 million for six years) could be the team’s veteran third-line center when the Quinton Byfield-era Kings are ready to compete, and that’s solid.
Minnesota — Kirill Kaprizov remains without a deal, and the Wild still don’t have a No. 1 center.
Montreal — Mike Hoffman adds the power-play one-timer they’ll miss without Shea Weber, and nothing else. David Savard was a nice pickup.
NY Rangers — Adding Ryan Reaves for a third-rounder, signing Jarred Tinordi … Tom Wilson’s in your head, fellas.
St. Louis — Vladimir Tarasenko’s trade value plummets by the day, but Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich were nice replacements for Jaden Schwartz. The Blues badly need a rebound from Torey Krug.
Seattle — Defense and goaltending look excellent. Not sure where the offense is coming from. Still don’t understand why the Kraken didn’t make any side deals in advance of the expansion draft.
Vancouver — Made some shrewd pickups (Conor Garland, Tucker Poolman, Jason Dickinson) as Jim Benning continues to fix his cap mistakes. Now, how much is he going to pay RFAs Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes?
Washington — An old and slow team, headlined by 35-year-old Alex Ovechkin (new contract: five years at $9.5 million per).
Winnipeg — Improved a poor defense (Nate Schmidt, Brenden Dillon) but still need to sign a few forwards.
Rebuilders
Anaheim — Jump the Ducks into the next category if they can land Jack Eichel.
Arizona — Continues to eat bad contracts and pick up draft picks. Check back in a few years.
Buffalo — Bleak.
Columbus — Jakub Voracek and Patrik Laine could be an interesting pair.
Detroit — More stealthy moves by Steve Yzerman. Might be ready for the next step.
Nashville — Finally accepting it is in a rebuild. It won’t be a quick one.
New Jersey — Hamilton is a major piece. P.K. Subban’s $9 million comes off the books next summer, when the Devils have a host of RFAs to sign.
Ottawa — Like what the Senators are doing. Hard team to play against. D.J. Smith deserves credit.
San Jose — Adin Hill and James Reimer in net: a slight upgrade from Martin Jones.
Loose pucks
It has been two weeks since Nashville prospect Luke Prokop came out as the first openly gay player under an NHL contract. It has gone swimmingly for Prokop, who reports a whirlwind of well-wishes in person and online. “It’s one thing to support things like this in the abstract,” said Gerry Johannson, his agent. “It’s another thing when there’s a young man involved and it’s his life. Everyone I’ve talked to in hockey, the support has been off the charts. I can see the weight of the world coming off Luke’s shoulders. He’s a brave guy and I’m really proud of him.” … Patrice Bergeron’s cap hit ($6.875 million) is the most expensive on the Bruins. It ranks 70th-highest in the league. Summer of 2022 RFA Charlie McAvoy, who watched Jones ($9.5 million), Hamilton ($9 million), Cale Makar ($9 million), and Miro Heiskanen ($8.45 million) get paid recently, is aware.
Matt Porter can be reached at matthew.porter@globe.com. Follow him on X @mattyports.