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Georgii Merkulov? Absent. Fabian Lysell? Also nowhere to be seen at the edge of Lake Erie, where the summer sun that pushed temperatures Saturday into the 80s soon will turn traitor cold.
For Bruins fans, the Black and Gold loyalists ever eager to see the next shiny penny drop from the sky and into the lineup, it portends as encouraging news that Merkulov, 23, and Lysell, 21, were kept back in Boston and did not board the bus for the annual Prospects Challenge.
They’re still prospects, albeit now with benefits, no longer needing to be here among fresh-faced kids, some of whom on Friday pulled on a Bruins sweater for the first time in what was the tournament opener (a 6-3 loss to Pittsburgh). After two years of steady work with the AHL WannaB’s, it just might be time for the two forwards finally to take off and find the footlights of the NHL. Merkulov led Providence last season in goals (30) and points (65), while Lysell, the club’s first-round pick in the 2021 draft, increased his production to 15-35–50.
Beginning Wednesday, when the varsity camp opens in Brighton, we’ll find out if two years of steady, diligent AHL prep is the diploma that lands them work among hockey’s most highly skilled workforce.
“Are they ready for a job in the NHL?” mused Providence coach Ryan Mougenel, here again this year to run the Boston bench during the Prospects Challenge. “I think they are, but you know, if you asked me if Justin Brazeau was [ready] last year, I wouldn’t know.
I don’t have a crystal ball. I do think they’re in a really good spot to push.” Brazeau, a big, raw talent who was never drafted, showed some promising signs late last season when he moved on up from Providence. He will be just some of the competition that Merkulov and Lysell are about to face.
He was on no one’s “emerging prospect” list this time a year ago. Merkulov, signed as a college free agent out of Ohio State in the spring of 2022, is a left-shot center wired to shoot, then shoot some more.
He is 5 feet 11 inches, 175 pounds, and logged limited ice time in his four-game look (0-0–0) with Boston last season. He is eligible to return for another year in Providence but is as eager to launch his NHL career as he is eager to shoot pucks. Given the political strife at home, and ongoing war with Ukraine, he would not want to return to Russia.
Lysell, chosen 21st in 2021, is a blazing-fast right winger with a right shot. Legit legs. Potential burner. He is now 5-11, 180 pounds, a bit stouter than the spindly 18-year-old that originally caught the eye of Bruins scouts. He, too, could go back to the WannaB’s, but another AHL season might not be the challenge that gets his game to the next level.
Though career advancement is essentially the core of Mougenel’s job description, it’s about to be left to Boston coach Jim Montgomery to find out if he has room in his lineup for Lysell and/or Merkulov. Mougenel only can provide the road map out of Providence. For kids with a dream, they have to get behind the wheel and navigate on their own. “When they’re ready to graduate, they’ll be in good hands,” said Mougenel, lauding the Bruins’ coaching staff, including Montgomery, Joe Sacco, and Chris Kelly. “I think they are [ready]. I hope they are.
I think they understand that they should feel very confident going into camp. They’re two hell of a good hockey players who’ve grown a lot as people and players. “We’re proud of who they are and where they’re going. They’re both still really young. We’re excited for them.” Prospects lose The Bruins dropped to 0-1-1 in tourney play, falling to Columbus, 4-3, in overtime. In a game that included three fights, the Bruins’ goal scorers were Brett Harrison, Lucas Romeo, and Adam Mechura.
The 6-5 Mechura, a Czech pivot who played last season at ECHL Maine, potted the 3-3 equalizer with 3:05 remaining in the second period. Bruins goalie Andrew Oke, a late roster addition who drove here from Michigan two days earlier, gave up the winner with 35.9 seconds remaining in OT. The 6–3 stopper, who backed OHL Saginaw to the Memorial Cup title this past spring, finished with 29 saves. He is the son of Eric Oke, a successful kicker with the UMass football team in the early 1990s. Oke, never selected in the NHL Draft, is slated to return to Saginaw this season.
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