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Bruins GM Don Sweeney Confident AHL Trade Piece Will Compete For NHL Job
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- Bruins GM Don Sweeney Confident AHL Trade Piece Will Compete For NHL Job
Bruins GM Don Sweeney Confident AHL Trade Piece Will Compete For NHL Job originally appeared on NESN . Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Boston Bruins traded AHL standout and former first-round pick Fabian Lysell to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for former undrafted free agent signing Ivan Ivan.
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Unlike Lysell, Ivan has had a lengthy stay at the NHL level.
The Czech native began his ascent through the American ranks in 2019 in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. He played three seasons at the junior level before recording 33 goals and 57 assists in 64 games during the 2022-23 season and earning an AHL contract with Colorado.
He spent just one season in the AHL. His 31 points were enough to earn an NHL call-up, where he played on the Avalanche's fourth line for half the season.
Ivan scored five goals and three assists in 40 games with Colorado in 2024-25, but only played nine games with the big league squad last season. He was relegated to the AHL, where he spent most of the season.
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But Bruins general manager Don Sweeney assured reporters that Ivan was coming to Boston to compete for a job on the NHL squad.
"We're excited about Ivan -- Ivan Ivan obviously, but I'll refer to his first name in Ivan," Sweeney joked. "Because he's played games, he's got experience, he's got versatility to his game. Here's a player that's worked his way from an undrafted player to a tryout, to an AHL deal, to playing the amount of games now that he has on a really good team.
"A change of scenery for him will be welcomed, and he will come and compete for a job here."
More NHL: Bruins GM Don Sweeney Explains Decision Trade Away Former 1st-Rnd Pick
