“He was selected so early by Boston for a reason. He has incredible ability and incredible speed. It’s going to be fun to see him with the plays he is capable of making. – His Giants teammate Justin Sourdif talks about Fabian Lysell
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Justin Sourdif was one of Fabian Lysell’s linemates at Vancouver Giants practice Thursday morning and gladly became one of the Swede’s promotion men after that.
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“Fans can look forward to the speed of the NHL and the decision-making of the NHL.” Sourdif said about Lysell, who was assigned to the Giants Wednesday night by the Boston Bruins, the club that made him a first-round pick, No. 21 overall, in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. .
“He was selected so early by Boston for a reason. He has incredible ability and incredible speed. It’s going to be fun to see him with the plays he is capable of making.
In preparation for Saturday’s first game of the season on the road against the Victoria Royals, Giants coach Michael Dyck featured Sourdif, the Florida Panther prospect who was the player of the year and the division’s top scorer. WHL’s BC last season, centering Lysell and Adam Hall. , who is a hard-working and tough guy, in the session at the Ladner Leisure Center.
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NEXT GAME
Saturday
Vancouver Giants vs. Victoria Royals
7:05 pm, Save-On-Foods Memorial Stadium. TV: watch.chl.ca. Radio: TBD.
Sourdif and Lysell were among the five players the Giants had in NHL camps. The only one who has not returned is forward Zack Ostapchuk. Ostapchuk, 18, elected to the second round of the Ottawa Senators last summer, signed his three-year entry contract with the Senators on Wednesday and remains with them. Ottawa has an exhibition doubleheader this weekend against the Montreal Canadiens.
Boston could have assigned the 18-year-old to its American Hockey League affiliate in Providence since he was drafted outside of Europe, or sent him back to play professionally in Sweden. At 5 feet 10 inches and 172 pounds, there is an argument that he could use a year in junior hockey to give him more time to physically complete.
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The Giants also benefited from the fact that Scott Bradley, the former Bruins executive who is now special adviser to general manager Don Sweeney, lives in the Lower Mainland and can keep a close eye on Lysell playing here. Plus, there’s an added level of comfort for Lysell with his agent Gerry Johannson, whose client list includes former Giants stars Brendan Gallagher and Milan Lucic. Former Giants general manager Scott Bonner also works for Johannson’s agency.
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Lysell had a great assist on a Jack Studnicka scoreboard in Boston’s 3-2 preseason loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. Lysell said Thursday that he learned about being a professional in his time with the Bruins.
“It’s easy to say, but it’s actually quite scary how prepared everyone is and how focused and positive they are when they come out on the track every day,” said Lysell, who is from Goteborg, Sweden. “It’s definitely something I want to bring back here.”
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WHL teams are allowed only two import players during an entire season. Vancouver had chosen Lysell and Slovak defender Marko Stacha in the 2020 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft. Lysell opted to stay in Europe last season, but Stacha came and played the shortened season in the BC Division center.
Vancouver kept Lysell on their roster all season, opting to play a European under the maximum. Since he was expected to be an NHL first-round pick, they received a pick in this past season’s import draft. They used it on Swedish goalkeeper Jesper Vikman, a 19-year-old Vegas Golden Knights prospect who was reassigned by that club to Vancouver earlier this week.
Vancouver had two weeks from Lysell’s official reassignment to make a decision on which two Europeans wanted to stay. However, Giants general manager Barclay Parneta opted to move immediately, trading 19-year-old Stacha to the Kamloops Blazers Wednesday night for a fifth-round pick in the WHL bantamweight draft. of 2023.
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Parneta said it was not ideal to move Stacha to a division rival, but he also felt that Stacha deserved better than staying in limbo and hesitating for two weeks. Stacha, a two-way rearguard guy who played the first four minutes last season for Vancouver, scored one goal and six points in 22 games in center.
Defender Cade McNelly, who got a free-agent look from the Los Angeles Kings, was the other Giant who had been to NHL camp and has since returned. He will not play against Victoria on Saturday, having four games left with a five-game suspension he received last season while with the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Dyck and Vancouver forwards Kyle Bochek and Colton Langkow are also suspended for the game due to a fight on the line with 57 seconds remaining in Vancouver’s 3-1 preseason victory over the Prince George Cougars on Friday at Maple. Ridge. Associate coach Keith McCambridge, whose resume includes three stints as head coach at the AHL, will lead the Vancouver bench that night.
The Giants’ first home game is October 8, with Prince George visiting the Langley Events Center.
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Reference-theprovince.com