P.J. Axelsson became a Bruins fan favorite during his 11 seasons in Boston thanks to his gritty play, defensive commitment and consistently high effort. He’ll earn even more favor with Bruins fans if the team’s 2021 draft class works out well for them.
The Bruins used three of their first four picks over the weekend on players from Sweden, taking right wing Fabian Lysell in the first round, goalie Philip Svedeback in the fourth, and left wing Oskar Jellvik in the fifth.
Axelsson, now Boston’s European scouting director, played a big role in evaluating the three Swedes. While he wasn’t the only Bruins scout to watch them, general manager Don Sweeney said himself that it was helpful having Axelsson on the ground in Sweden, especially in a COVID season in which in-person scouting was tougher in every country.
Speaking with reporters via Zoom on Tuesday, Axelsson shared his thoughts on the newest Bruins prospects and the unusual situation of taking three Swedish players in one draft, something Boston hadn’t done since 2000.
Axelsson said there was no concerted effort to draft Swedish players, but that that’s just how the draft broke.
“I would say it more developed as the draft went along,” Axelsson said. “Obviously we liked all three players a lot, because we drafted them. We probably liked them more than other teams obviously. But it just happened that way, and we are extremely happy that we got all three of the Swedes.”
Here is more of what Axelsson had to say about the the players.
On first-round pick Fabian Lysell and whether he’s similar to Axelsson himself at all: “First of all, he has a lot more skill than I ever had. Might not backcheck as much, but he’s a highly skilled forward that skates really well. He can create offense. That’s his main thing. He also has an underrated shot that he should use a little bit more. We’re going to work on that.”
On fifth-round pick Oskar Jellvik: “Jellvik, very high hockey IQ on him. He’s a playmaking type of kid, a little underdeveloped still. He needs to develop a little bit more.”
On what they’ll need to work on to make it in the NHL: “I think for the forwards, I think they both need strength. I know that’s boring to say because that’s the case for most of the 17-, 18-year-old kids nowadays. But they really have to get stronger. They do have the skill. They have the talent. They need to get in the gym and get stronger and do the work outside the ice surface. That’s going to be the main thing for both of those guys to be able to play in the NHL.”
On people comparing Lysell to David Pastrnak: “I have to be careful, because Pasta is a superstar in the NHL. But at the same age, they are similar. They both really want to win hockey games, they’re both really competitive, and they love to score goals. There are similarities. Hopefully Fabian can do what Pasta did and develop the same way. I’m not saying he’ll be the same player, because we don’t know, but he definitely has the talent to become a very good hockey player.”
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