The Bruins must have liked what they saw in Sweden this year. General manager Don Sweeney and his staff went with Swedish players on three of their first four picks in this weekend’s draft, taking right wing Fabian Lysell in the first round, goalie Philip Svedeback in the fourth, and center/left wing Oskar Jellvik in the fifth.
While none of the three have ever played on the same team, there is at least some familiarity between two of them. Speaking to the media after being selected, Jellvik said he has known Lysell for many years and had high praise for the 21st overall pick.
“I have faced and I know Fabian, for a long time,” Jellvik said. “I think Fabian is a great player. His offensive skills are unbelievable. When he comes off the rush against the D, he’s gonna toe-drag and put it between his legs and put it in the top corner. Yeah, he’s a great guy. I’ve known him for many years.”
Jellvik has not faced and doesn’t know Svedeback.
Lysell has been dominant at times against his age group, including putting up nine points (three goals, six assists) in seven games at this year's Under-18 World Championships. He struggled with Lulea in the SHL (Sweden's top pro league) this season, though, registering three points in 26 games.
Jellvik’s praise for him lines up with Sweeney’s assessment of the speedy winger as well.
"I think we do identify with the skill and the game-breaking ability. He’s got speed," Sweeney said. "He can both playmake and shoot the puck. Going down and watching live at the U18s, you saw the pockets of his high-end ability. There’s other details all young players have to learn and he’ll have to assimilate to the North American style, but he has attributes that I think we identified that the Boston Bruins need as much of as we possibly can. Scoring and skill is a premium and it’s hard to find, and Fabian has a lot of those attributes."
The ESPN draft broadcast and a couple reporters on Twitter made reference to some sort of "character concern" with Lysell that may have resulted in him dropping, but didn't provide details. So far there hasn't been any concrete reporting about anything serious.
When asked about those remarks, Sweeney acknowledged without getting into specifics that there was some sort of maturity issue, but that the Bruins were ultimately not concerned after doing their homework, a lot of which was done on the ground in Sweden by former Bruin P.J. Axelsson, who is now the team's European scouting coordinator.
"No. Obviously we have a player who played a long time with the Boston Bruins in P.J. Axelsson, who’s in Sweden, was in the hometown where Fabian originally played before he went to Lulea," Sweeney said. "There’s growing up to be done for all young men and women, and Fabian’s no different in that regard. He’s made some real steps.
"We challenged him in the interview process in terms of how his maturity was progressing and felt satisfied that he’s made a lot of strides from growing into a young man and beyond. We’re aware of the challenges that he’s presented in certain situations that he might not have handled as well as he could. He’s grown from it and he’ll be a better person from it."