Christmas isn’t exactly the halfway point of the hockey calendar, but it’s often treated that way. Especially at lower levels, it’s close enough. College teams are on winter break. The World Junior Championships, set to begin next week, split up the season for the top under-20 players.
What to make of Ryan Mougenel's criticism of Fabian Lysell
So, we figured it was a good time to take a look at how some of the Bruins’ prospects are playing this season. Let’s start with AHL Providence, and let’s start with their leading scorer…
Georgii Merkulov is leading the P-Bruins in points for a second straight season with 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 28 games. He has points in nine of Providence’s last 11 games and has six goals in the last six games. He had a goal and an assist Wednesday night against the Toronto Marlies. Two weekends ago, he had seven points in two games.
That all puts Merkulov slightly ahead of his scoring pace from last season, but his biggest year-to-year improvement, according to those who watch the P-Bruins more than I admittedly do, has been his play away from the puck and his defensive buy-in.
The path to a call-up to Boston remains a bit murky for Merkulov (pun intended), but it’s not out of the question that he could get a look sometime in the next few weeks while Matt Poitras is away at World Juniors with Team Canada.
The Bruins appear set at center in the short-term with Pavel Zacha now back and Morgan Geekie playing well there since shifting over from wing. But if something were to happen to one of the four regular centers and they needed a fill-in for a couple games before Poitras returns, that might be the opening Merkulov needs. Even if it’s not a permanent call-up, getting Merkulov his first NHL action could be a nice reward for his strong play.
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Sticking in Providence, the biggest news this week was head coach Ryan Mougenel calling out 2021 first-round pick Fabian Lysell after Sunday’s 4-1 loss to Syracuse. Asked about how Lysell, now in his second pro season, has progressed, Mougenel took the question in an interesting direction.
“Listen, there’s a lot of good things he does. He can create anxiety with his feet,” Mougenel began. “But for Fabian, he has to recognize that sometimes there’s not always a play to be made. I think that’s still in his growth. He’s learning that. I’m not saying that he won’t. But the team game is real important, and he’s got five other guys there. I hate the play in the third period where he’s trying to beat a guy 1-on-4. That’s the stuff he’s got to get out of his game, and it’s recognizing that.
“We’re getting into year two here, and he’s got to start buying in or he won’t play for Jim Montgomery. That’s a big part of Monty’s game, is the team game and building the team game. A lot of that is possession. You can’t necessarily chip the puck, get it back, expand and hit the weak-side D. You need five other guys to be a part of that. You have to be connected and have a willingness to play that way. And until you do, then you’re out of here, you’re not in the AHL, then you’re Jim Montgomery’s problem. But until then, he’s got to start building that into his game.”
A lot to unpack there. Let’s start with the specific play Mougenel was talking about, which you can watch here.
On the surface, that doesn’t look that bad. Generally, you would rather have a young player be too aggressive trying to get to “inside ice” than not aggressive enough. But context does matter here. It’s a delayed penalty on Syracuse, and Lysell has a chance to pull up after entering the zone and set up a 6-on-5 attack that could lead to a better scoring chance than the one he tries to create by doing everything himself. The P-Bruins did still end up with possession after Lysell got knocked off the puck, but that could have just as easily led to a change of possession and a whistle.
The tone of the comments from Mougenel, who is usually pretty positive, suggests this is something he’s talked to Lysell about before. It’s also reminiscent of some comments Montgomery has made about Poitras learning “game management” in Boston this season, something Mougenel also alludes to. This may have been a case of it happening one too many times and some frustration boiling over postgame.
I asked Bruins general manager Don Sweeney about Mougenel’s comments and Lysell’s development in general on Monday. This was his response:
“I was actually at [Sunday’s] game, so I certainly heard Mouge’s frustration after the game as we sat down for about 20 minutes,” Sweeney said. “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. And as the team started to get away from -- you give credit to Syracuse, because they got to their game, and our team departed from that -- that's where a young player like Fabian, that's he’s specifically referencing, managing the game and having an understanding. No different than really anybody else.
“Brad [Marchand] and Pasta [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 Mouge, and he's just trying to reaffirm that part.”
Mougenel’s comments certainly warrant attention, especially the part about not playing in Boston unless he starts “buying in.” Combined with a tough training camp and preseason for Lysell, it understandably leaves a bad taste in the mouth of some Bruins fans who were already wondering if Lysell is trending towards being a “bust.” Wednesday’s game probably didn’t help matters, because Lysell attempted another unsuccessful 1-on-4 rush in this one.
The counter: He’s still just 20 years old, and he does have 17 points in 24 games, which is third on the team and a little ahead of his scoring pace from last season. His aggressiveness on the attack can also make plays like this happen (in the same game Sunday). The “bust” label is far too strong at this point, but it’s clear that Lysell still has work to do and that a call-up to Boston may not be coming any time soon.
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Elsewhere in Providence, the P-Bruins’ second-leading scorer is currently John Farinacci, a first-year pro signed out of Harvard who was originally a Coyotes third-round pick in 2019 and whose uncle is Harvard coach and former Bruin Ted Donato.
Farinacci’s 20 points (6 goals, 14 assists) in 28 games tie him for seventh among AHL rookies in points, which is certainly encouraging to see. Like Merkulov, he’s a center, meaning there’s probably not a clear path to a call-up for the time being.
Looking at Providence’s other rookie forwards, 2020 third-round pick Trevor Kuntar has eight points in 28 games and 2021 third-round pick Brett Harrison has four in 14.
One Providence forward whose offensive numbers are a bit disappointing is Marc McLaughlin, who has five points in 28 games. McLaughlin has 13 games of NHL experience already and was very close to making Boston out of camp last year, but that kind of production doesn’t exactly scream out for an imminent call-up.
In net, Brandon Bussi hasn’t been as dominant as last season, but likely remains next in line should something happen to Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman. He’s 7-6-3 with a .901 save percentage and 2.94 goals-against average. Michael DiPietro, acquired in the Jack Studnicka trade last year, has actually posted better numbers (6-4-0, .918, 2.46).
On defense, Alec Regula is having a good first season in the organization, as he’s currently leading the AHL in plus/minus (+15) while chipping in eight points in 25 games. Regula, acquired along with Ian Mitchell in the Taylor Hall trade, measures 6-foot-4, 218 pounds. The 23-year-old has 22 games of NHL experience in Chicago and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get a couple games in Boston at some point, although Mitchell, Mason Lohrei and Parker Wotherspoon have been ahead of him in the pecking order so far.
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Shifting to the college ranks, the most encouraging development has been Oskar Jellvik’s play for No. 1 Boston College. Now a sophomore, the 2021 fifth-round pick has already matched his freshman-year production in half as many games, putting up 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists) in 17 games so far while mostly playing on an all-sophomore line with fellow Bruins prospect Andre Gasseau (who has 12 points) and Flyers first-round pick Cutter Gauthier.
Earlier this season, I asked BC coach Greg Brown what areas of his game Jellvik has improved the most since last season.
“Everything,” Brown said. “He’s playing with a ton of confidence. He’s stronger. He’s skating better. We knew he was a good player last year. We saw it, especially in practice, but most of his best stuff was on the power play last year. Now he’s able to create and generate offense 5-on-5 as well as on the power play. … He’s a real factor in all situations. He’s killing penalties very well, too. So, he’s really made a huge jump for us.”
At the other end of Comm Ave, 2021 seventh-round pick Ty Gallagher has had to accept a little bit of a reduced role for No. 2 Boston University, whose loaded blue line features seven NHL draft picks. Gallagher, who had 37 total points across his first two college season, has just two in 16 games this season. He was serving as the seventh/extra defenseman for a few games earlier this season, but has since worked his way back to more of a regular lineup spot.
At No. 10 Providence College, 2021 fourth-round pick Philip Svedeback is 9-5-2 with a .908 save percentage and 2.13 goals-against average in his sophomore season, while junior forward and 2020 sixth-round pick Riley Duran is tied for the team lead with five goals in 16 games.
At No. 11 UMass, freshman forward and 2022 fourth-round pick Dans Locmelis got off to a delayed start due to NCAA eligibility issues, and now has four goals and an assist in 12 games. Three of those five points came in the Minutemen’s final three games before the break.
As a freshman at No. 17 Cornell, 2023 sixth-round pick Ryan Walsh is tied for second on the team in goals with five in 11 games. At Minnesota-Duluth, 2019 third-round pick Quinn Olson, a fifth-year grad student, is second on the team in scoring with 14 points (3 goals, 11 assists) in 17 games, while sophomore and 2022 fourth-round pick Cole Spicer has nine points (5 goals, 4 assists).
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Jellvik and Gasseau aren’t the only Bruins prospects playing together on a line. Their top two picks from 2023 – third-rounder Chris Pelosi and fourth-rounder Beckett Hendrickson – are linemates for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL. They are currently two of the team’s top three scorers, with Pelosi at 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 22 games and Hendrickson right behind him with 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists).
They were also just linemates at the World Junior A Challenge, where they helped the United States finish third. They each had two goals and two assists in six games. Pelosi is committed to Quinnipiac University for next season, while Hendrickson is committed to the University of Minnesota.