The Bruins selected Swedish right wing Fabian Lysell with the 21st overall pick (really the 20th pick since Arizona forfeited the 11th) in the 2021 NHL draft.
Lysell, listed at 5-foot-10 and 172 pounds, is considered one of the best skaters in the draft, and could be one of the best values of the first round depending on which rankings you look at. Several draft experts had him ranked in the top 15, including Elite Prospects (9), TSN's Bob McKenzie (14), The Athletic's Scott Wheeler (13) and Hockey Sense's Chris Peters (12).
Lysell also has very good hands and scouts and analysts praise his ability to make high-end plays at top speed. One criticism of his game is that his effort sometimes wanes away from the puck.
"I think I’m a dynamic player," Lysell told reporters when asked to describe his game. "I like to challenge opponents with pace. I try to use my skating to create separation for myself and to be in those dangerous scoring areas."
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.
“I think we do identify with the skill and the game-breaking ability. He’s got speed," said Bruins general manager Don Sweeney. "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 it's unclear what that would be, so we won't speculate. So far there hasn't been any concrete reporting about anything serious.
When asked about those comments, 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."
The Bruins have come under criticism in recent years for making "safe" or "conservative" picks rather than taking chances on high-skill players. Those critics should be satisfied with Lysell, as he certainly qualifies as a high-skill pick.
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