The Colorado Avalanche had already taken a chance on one Bruin farmhand who could not break through to the NHL, now they’ve made it a pair.
The Avs signed Russian-born Georgii Merkulov to a one-year contract on Monday. Financial details were not immediately available.
The 25-year-old Merkulov, who was signed by the B’s as a free agent out of Ohio State in the spring of 2022, led the Providence Bruins in scoring in all his four full years with the B’s top minor league affiliate in the AHL. His best season was in 2023-24 when he had 30-35-65 in 67 games. Last season, he had 24-37-61 in 70 games and was a career best plus-11 for the juggernaut P-Bruins who again were bumped out of the Calder Cup playoffs in the first round.
While Merkulov was proficient at the AHL level, he could never gain traction in the NHL. He had one assist in 11 big league games. Whether that’s the fault of the player – his foot speed is far from elite — or the organization didn’t give him enough of a chance could be determined if he can stick with the highly talented Avs.
Fabian Lysell, who was traded to Colorado for grinder Ivan Ivan at the draft on June 27, is in the same boat. The B’s used a first round pick on Lysell in 2021 (21st overall). But while he showed flashes of abundant skill at the AHL level, he tended to be a bit of a one-on-one player and lacked in some of his details, especially in his own zone. And when he got a chance for some consecutive games in the NHL in the B’s bottom-out year of 2024-25, he did not pop. The 23-year-old Lysell had one goal and two assists in 12 games that year. After the trade, Lysell signed a one-year, two-way deal that carries an NHL cap hit of $850,000.
If one or both flame out, then the Avs have bolstered their AHL team with little lost. But they’ve taken a low-risk gamble on a couple of skilled forwards.