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Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson Practices With Bruins For First Time

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Bruins could be getting one of their top prospects in the NHL lineup before the end of the season, and it's not Charlie McAvoy.

2015 second-round pick Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson practiced with the team at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton on Tuesday, hours before the Bruins' crucial showdown with the Tampa Bay Lightning at the TD Garden. Forsbacka Karlsson wore No. 23, a jersey number previously worn by ex-Bruins such as Craig Janney, Steve Heinze, and Chris Kelly.

The Bruins signed Forsbacka Karlsson (a.k.a. "JFK") to a three-year entry-level contract on Sunday, days after his Boston University Terriers were eliminated from the NCAA men's ice hockey tournament. The centerman scored 63 points in 78 games between two seasons at BU, and previously scored 86 points in 110 games for the Omaha Lancers of the USHL.

The 20-year-old Forsbacka Karlsson appears slightly closer to cracking the Bruins roster than the 19-year-old McAvoy, who recently signed an ATO with the Providence Bruins. But McAvoy in just two games has impressed Bruins GM Don Sweeney, who hasn't ruled out calling him up to the NHL before the end of the season.

Although Forsbacka Karlsson, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, is already in the U.S., he's still facing potential issues with his immigration status, according to The Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa.

There's still a chance that both Forsbacka Karlsson and McAvoy see time at the NHL level sooner rather than later.

Tune in to Bruins-Lightning on 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship station of the Boston Bruins. Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.!

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