Scott Wheeler of The Athletic has prepared a list of the top 100 NHL prospects for the 2024-25 season, with one of the Boston Bruins’ young organizational talents ranked 88th. Fabian Lysell, a 2021 first-round draft pick, remains Boston’s greatest prospect after a season with the Providence Bruins in which he scored 15 goals and assisted 35 times. However, Lysell’s improved defensive game, which was praised by Providence Head Coach Ryan Mougenel at the close of last season, has given reason for optimism with training camp just two months away.
Fabian Lysell Statistics and Salary Cap
Wheeler ranks Lysell 88th based on the following evaluation: “He’s a free-flowing skater with rare peak speed and agility with the puck on his stick (one of those guys who appears to get faster with the puck on his stick). “He’s not just a one-trick pony,” Wheeler wrote. “The highlight pack is definitely about end-to-end rushes and dashes through coverage holes. He can, however, dance a defender by pulling pucks through his wide stance and across his body in order to defeat them with his hands rather than a lateral cut. He can also move opponents to the outside with his tremendous top speed and rapid change of pace. He has cuts, pauses and starts, as well as directional shifts. While his shot isn’t particularly powerful, it is deceiving off the blade and accurate.”
The Bruins’ prospect pool has been one of the poorest in the NHL for several years, and it has taken a further damage with the promotion of Mason Lohrei, Matt Poitras, and John Beecher to the big club. The 21-year-old Lysell and 24-year-old center Georgii Merkulov lead Boston’s next youth movement, after which the skill pool swiftly thins. The Bruins have been without many first-round picks in recent years owing to their ambition to win another Stanley Cup, but Boston reclaimed its first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, selecting 6-foot-7 center Dean Letourneau.
Boston’s farm system will take some time to refill, and Lysell and Merkulov should contend for roster places as early as this autumn, leaving the Bruins with an even poorer collection of young players.
