Floating-footed Fabian Lysell conjures up memories of former Vancouver Giants star Gilbert Brule

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Fabian Lysell has something of Gilbert Brule in his game.

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So far, eyesight is limited when it comes to Lysell with the Vancouver Giants, but the 18-year-old Swedish winger has already demonstrated explosiveness in his skating and an ability to detach himself from his check as if he had access to a turbo boost button. . . Combine that with your right hand shot and 5-foot-10, 172-pound frame, and you go back to Brule, the Giants’ first marquee attraction.

“He’s a pretty dynamic player,” Giants coach Michael Dyck said of Lysell, the Boston Bruins’ first-round pick, No. 21 overall, in last summer’s NHL draft. “He likes to play fast. It makes people hot on its heels.

“And it’s only going to get better. The more it syncs with how we play, the better it gets. “

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NEXT GAME

Wednesday

Vancouver Giants vs. Kelowna Rockets

7:05 pm, Prospera Place. Radio: AM650

Brule, who weighed 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds in Giants days, didn’t have the NHL career the Columbus Blue Jackets hoped for when they used their first-round pick, No. 6 overall, on him. in the 2005 NHL Draft. He played 299 regular season games and had 43 goals and 95 points to prove. He has continued to play in Europe. Now 34, he dressed last season in Poland.

Brule was still a dazzling young man. People shouldn’t forget that. He was the type of player who routinely shoved crowds out of their seats at the Pacific Coliseum.

He led Vancouver’s 2006 WHL championship season, amassing 16 goals and 30 points in just 18 postseason games.

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He also had a lot of bite in his game. In 165 regular season games in his career with the Giants, he scored 185 points and 309 penalty minutes.

Lysell doesn’t have that kind of physique, but he has speed to burn. Like Brule in his Giants days, Lysell can make opposing defenders appear to be skating in the soup.

“I think he’s faster and faster than Brule, to be honest with you. I think Gilbert had more power, ”said Giants general manager Barclay Parneta.

Lysell scored one goal and three assists in Vancouver’s 7-2 win over the Kelowna Rockets on Friday. That puts him at two goals and eight points in five games with Vancouver. – he missed a game with an undisclosed injury – and says he’s starting to feel more comfortable in the ranks of the WHL.

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He is used to the international size ice in Sweden. Last season, he also played in the professional ranks there.

“On the smaller ice, you have a little less time with the puck and creating scoring opportunities, so you have to make your decisions faster,” Lysell said. “I think I’m adjusting to that. I want to continue working with that. You have to stay relaxed and be patient with the process.

“I have more in me. Hopefully I can get that out very soon here. Hopefully he starts playing even better ”.

The Swedish professional league is defensive-minded and structured, said Lysell, who believes there are more transition opportunities and odd-man careers in the WHL.

“There is also a lot of structure here. We have a lot of video meetings to go over what we’re doing on the ice, ”Lysell quickly chimed in. “It’s a bit different, but I feel like both leagues are quite structured.”

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The Giants selected Lysell in the Canadian Hockey League import draft before last season, but he chose to stay in Sweden. Vancouver kept him on their roster for the core season last spring and he played a European under the two-high.

Obviously, it was difficult to find import players amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but Vancouver also believed that they could land Lysell eventually, largely because their agent in North America is Gerry Johannson and he has represented countless Giants throughout. over the years, including artists like Milan Lucic and Brendan Gallagher.

Former Giants general manager Scott Bonner also works for Johannson’s Edmonton-based agency.

The Giants’ bid to put Lysell in the lineup received another boost when he was drafted by Boston, considering the Giants and Bruins have history. Lucic went from the Giants roster directly to the Bruins. Giants owner Ron Toigo is close to Bruins president Cam Neely. Neely spoke on behalf of the Giants’ bid to win the 2007 Memorial Cup tournament.

Boston hiring Lysell to an entry-level contact and then reassigning him to the Giants after Bruins training camp also works well for the Bruins, as Scott Bradley, who is the senior adviser to general manager Don Sweeney, lives in Lower Mainland and can keep a close eye on it. on the development of Lysell.

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