When the Boston Bruins selected Fabian Lysell in the first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, it was seen as a draft-day steal, having him fall to them at No. 21.
Now, almost five years later, he has yet to make the impact in the NHL that the Black and Gold would have hoped. He didn't make his NHL debut until this past December against the Columbus Blue Jackets before being sent back down to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL).
He came up at the end of the season and scored his first NHL goal and had two assists in 11 games, but after an offseason of a roster retool and free agency that brought in multiple bottom-six forwards, it's not a given that he makes the roster out of training camp and in the lineup on Opening Night. With so many questions surrounding him, it should come as no surprise that he is once again reportedly involved in trade rumors.
Boston Bruins prospect Fabian Lysell is once again in the middle of trade rumors
Stop me if you have heard this before: Fabian Lysell is drawing attention in a potential trade. It's not the first time and won't be the last until he's dealt with, if it all. This time, according to Court Lalonde of the Bruins Diehards podcast, the Edmonton Oilers are the latest team reportedly seeing if Lysell is available.
Now, whether or not this is true, this isn't surprising. Under general manager Don Sweeney, the Bruins have blocked some of their prospects from making the roster in Boston, and this offseason appears to be another season where prospects are going to be the odd players out when it comes to constructing the roster in training camp. Lysell could be one of them.
Right now, Sweeney and the front office need to figure out whether they see Lysell as part of the future in Boston, and if they don't, then maybe moving him as part of a package deal is the way to go. You hope it can work out for him, but with each passing year where he's not a full-time NHL player, you wonder exactly what his future is. Trading him doesn't make sense, but we have seen things done that don't make sense a lot of times, so really, anything is possible.