Fabian Lysell topped the list of 19 players who lopped off the Bruins training camp roster on Sunday as the Providence Bruins are set to open their camp on Monday.

Lysell would have to be considered the biggest surprise out of all the cuts, at least now with another week left in camp. The B’s first round draft pick in 2021, Lysell played in three preseason games and got off to a concerning slow start in his first game that earned him a pick-it-up admonition from coach Jim Montgomery. He seemed to get the message. The 21-year-old right wing from Sweden played noticeably better in the next two games, scoring a power-goal in one of the games against the Washington Capitals.

While there was hope he could seize the second line right wing spot next to Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand, he skated with the veterans for just one practice. But the B’s have a lot of bodies. The right wings in Sunday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena were David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie, unsigned tryout Tyler Johnson and Cole Koepke. Meanwhile, Justin Brazeau, who would most likely slide into the fourth line RW spot, is dealing with a day-to-day injury. Max Jones, a left shot wing who was signed as a free agent in the offseason and whom the B’s are high on, is also working his way back from injury.

This is Lysell’s third pro season and he can go down to Providence without having to clear waivers. He could be a little better on his puck protection still. But with three more preseason games left, it is a bit of a head-scratcher that he was sent down so early and before he had a chance to play on a top-six line. The cuts were announced after the club’s media availability on Sunday, so we’ll get the reasoning from Montgomery and GM Don Sweeney at Monday’s media day.

Also assigned to Providence were Georgii Merkulov, who had a nice assist on a Brazeau goal against Washington but didn’t do quite enough to displace any of the centermen. Riley Duran had a promising camp as prospective bottom six grinder but the B’s have more veteran players under contract for that role.

Other players sent to Providence were Joey Abate, Drew Bavaro, Ryan Bischel, Frederic Brunet, Michael Callahan, Jackson Edward, John Farinacci, Brett Harrison, Trevor Kuntar, Nolan Maier, Ryan Mast, Adam Mechura,, Mason Millman and Jaxon Nelson. Marc McLaughlin was placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Providence.

Goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo was released from his tryout contract….

One player who remained with the big club and now seems to have an inside track to the third line center/wing spot is 20-year-old Matt Poitras. When camp began, both Sweeney and Montgomery had let it be known that, unlike last season when he made the roster out of training camp, Poitras is now eligible to be sent to Providence.

But Poitras has played well enough to stick so far, though Montgomery’s thumbs-up was a qualified one when he was asked to assess the player’s performance.

“Good. And the reason I don’t say great is he’s a little hesitant in some areas of his game still and that’s normal. He’s been out for eight months,” said Montgomery. “But you see it coming back more and more. What I like is there’s a big different in a young man who’s 19 trying to make the Boston Bruins and 20. Nineteen? Everything is gravy above what you expected. Now there’s pressure to make the Boston Bruins this year and he is performing admirably.”

Montgomery still wants to see Poitras get rid of the puck quicker at times. He took a big hit at the end of regulation on Saturday night in Philadelphia in the waning seconds of regulation from Rasmus Ristolainen. It was opportunistic and a bit cheap, but also legal.

“(He’s) still taking hits that I’ve talked him about that he doesn’t need to take,” said Montgomery. “He’s used to playing with the puck all the time. Like Patrick Kane has always been the highest possession guy, the most seconds in the league, right?…Poitras is never going to lead the league in what Patrick Kane does. So he’s got to adjust his game from junior to the pros and that’s an ongoing development, especially since he lost half the year last year.”

Poitras, who had his season shortened last year because of a shoulder injury that required extensive surgery, has been pleased with his performance, all things considered.

“I’ve felt pretty good. Maybe the points haven’t come like they did last year but I felt pretty good about the way I’ve played and I’ve had the puck a lot, so it’s been pretty good,” said Poitras.

“There are just certain plays here I should get rid of it and don’t take a hit. But I’m just getting back after not playing for so long. It will come.”…

The B’s switched around all their defense pairings on Sunday, pairing Hampus Lindholm with Charlie McAvoy, Mason Lohrei with Brandon Carlo and Nikita Zadorov with Andrew Peeke. The old pairs were Zadorov-McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm-Carlo and Lohrei-Peeke. It’s all part of the evaluation process, said Montgomery.

“We gave them half the camp that way, now we’re looking at the next three days this way. Just to see how it looks and how it develops,” said Montgomery. “There’s certain aspects of the way the pairings were today that get us excited. You’ve got Lindholm and Mac together and they’re just going to go, then you’ve got a great leader in Brando with Lohrei and they can match up really well offensively and defensively. And then you’ve got a heavy, physical pairing with Peeke and Big Z, or Little Z, whichever way you guys are going with that. What I like is we’re very flexible. And you look at it the other way and there were parts (he loved) the way we had it. So don’t read too much into that.”…

Elias Lindholm, who has been out since the first day of training camp, returned to practice, albeit in a non-contact jersey. He said he hopes to get into “one or two” preseason games.