Fabian Lysell arrives in Denver as the latest low-risk, high-upside swing for a Colorado Avalanche team that has made a habit of betting on talent others couldn’t quite unlock.
The track record is real. Andre Burakovsky turned a fresh start into a Stanley Cup ring in Colorado. Valeri Nichushkin—once written off by some around the league—became an indispensable piece of a championship core after arriving in Denver via a change of scenery.
Valeri Nichushkin’s impact on the Colorado Avalanche was undeniable. Credit: Jerome Miron – Imagn Images
Nichushkin’s path stands as the clearest blueprint. After his career stalled with the Dallas Stars amid questions about consistency, fit, and whether his game would ever fully translate at the NHL level, he found new life in Colorado and eventually developed into one of the Avalanche’s most important players.
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Now, it’s Lysell’s turn to see if he can follow a similar trajectory.
The Avalanche acquired the former first-round pick from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Ivan Ivan, a depth forward who spent much of last season with the Colorado Eagles but left a strong impression on teammates and within the organization.
Drafted 21st overall in 2021, Lysell has appeared in just 12 NHL games to this point in his career. The flashes are easy to spot—the pace, the hands, the creativity that once made him a top prospect—but he has yet to find real traction at the NHL level or steady consistency in Providence.
A 50-point season in 2023-24 looked like a potential turning point. Instead, it was followed by 34 points in 52 games in 2024-25 and 42 points in 57 games this past season, leaving his development stuck in neutral rather than accelerating forward.
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Part of that responsibility sits with the player, as it does with any prospect trying to establish himself. But there’s also a broader question of fit and development in Boston—whether Lysell was ever given the runway to lean fully into the offensive instincts that made him a first-round pick, or instead asked to adapt before his game was truly ready.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney hinted at that complexity when addressing the move.
“He hasn’t fully grasped at the NHL level what it probably requires to play each and every night. He took ownership of that today,” Sweeney said. “We took ownership that, could we have done more and better in supporting him? Probably.”
Now, the reset begins.
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When Lysell eventually makes his way to Denver for offseason training and pre-camp preparation, the spotlight shifts to how quickly he can translate talent into trust at the NHL level—and whether the Avalanche can unlock something Boston couldn’t consistently sustain.
Before turning pro in North America, Lysell developed in Sweden, spending parts of two seasons with Luleå HF in the SHL while also starring for Frölunda’s junior program. He posted three points (2G, 1A) in 26 SHL games during the 2020-21 season.
After being selected in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft, he came to North America and found immediate offensive success with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants in 2021-22, finishing with 62 points (22 goals, 40 assists) in 53 regular-season games. He elevated further in the postseason with 21 points (4 goals, 17 assists) in 12 playoff games, leading the WHL in assists that spring.
Internationally, Lysell has represented Sweden at the 2021 U18 World Championship and back-to-back World Junior Championships in 2022 and 2023, earning bronze medals at both the U18 and 2022 World Junior tournaments.
For Colorado, the talent is the easy part to see. The harder question is whether structure, opportunity, and patience under Jared Bednar can turn it into something permanent.
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