Bruins Prospect Fabian Lysell Needs To Improve This Portion Of Game

Highly touted prospect Fabian Lysell has amassed 17 points in 23 games for the Boston Bruins AHL affiliate in Providence, but that doesn’t mean the 20-year-old forward is ready to be called up to the NHL.

Following the Bruins’ 4-1 loss to the Syracuse Crunch on Dec. 17, Providence head coach Ryan Mougenel spoke about the Sweden native’s growth this season, per Black and Gold Productions, LLC’s Jason Cooke.

“There’s a lot of good things he does,” Mougenel said. “He can create anxiety with his feet. But for Fabian, he has to recognize that sometimes there’s not always a play to be made and I think that’s still in his growth. He’s learning. That’s not saying that he won’t, but the team game is real important and he’s got five other guys there.”

Lysell scored the lone Providence goal on the power play in the first period, but Mougenel appeared frustrated by the forward’s play for the remainder of the game.

“I hate the play in the third period where he’s trying to beat a guy one on four and that’s the stuff he’s got to get out of his game and it’s recognizing that,” Mougenel explained. “We’re getting into year two here. He’s got to start buying in or he won’t be playing for Jim Montgomery. A big part of Monty’s game is the team game and building the team game and a lot of that is possession.”

Moungenel added: “You can’t necessarily chip the puck, get it back, expand and hit the weak side (defenseman). You need five other guys to be a part of that and you have to be connected. (…) He’s got to start building that into his game.”

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told reporters he was at the game at the Amica Mutual Pavillion that Mougenel referenced and expanded on the coach’s assessment.

“I certainly heard (Mougenel’s) frustration after the game as we sat down for about 20 minutes,” Sweeney said, per team provided transcript. “The team played very well in the first period, their pace was up, execution was good. Fabian was a big part of that, he scored a nice goal on the power play with a downhill shot, managed the puck really well.”

Sweeney noted as the Crunch started to find its game, the Bruins got away from theirs and offensive-minded players like Lysell tend to try and generate more offense by taking risks.

“Managing the game and having an understanding, no different than really anybody else,” Sweeney said. “Brad (Marchand) and (David Pastrnak) go through the same things…offensively inclined players are going to go through that, they want to do more.

“Sometimes it’s just about maintaining within the team structure and executing, and that’s something that Fabian and all young players are going to continue to go through… older players, for that matter, are going to go through. They want to do more, and that’s a good quality to have, but you’ve got to do it within the framework of the team. It’s not something that he hasn’t heard directly from (Mougenel) and he’s just trying to reaffirm that part.”

Lysell played 54 games for Providence last season where he recorded 14 goals and 23 assists before being slowed down due to a late-season concussion.