TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan – Lian Bichsel has heard your takes.
He understands you may not have liked where he chose to play hockey last year. If you’re from his native Switzerland, you probably have an opinion on his spat with the Swiss national team. Maybe that informs the way you view him as a person, too.
Know this: he doesn’t care what you think about any of it.
“Outside people often think and ask, ‘What is he doing right now?’” says the 20-year-old defenseman. “There is a lot of thinking behind it from me, and it’s OK that outside people don’t understand. I saw the comments or whatever, but I’m staying focused on my hockey. I don’t really care what other people think.”
As a quick refresher, the Stars’ top defensive prospect started the season in the AHL with the Texas Stars, only to surprise observers inside and outside the organization by activating the European Assignment clause in his contract, which enabled him to participate in European hockey after December 1. That month, Bichsel returned to the Swedish Hockey League, where he played from 2021 through ’23, with Rögle.The Stars honored the clause and said all the right things publicly. Internally they were disappointed Bichsel didn’t spend the entire season in the AHL to better acclimate to North American hockey.
Bichsel also turned down an invitation to play for Switzerland at the Under-20 World Championships in December, a move that led the Swiss national program to declare Bichsel wouldn’t be invited to play at the international level until at least 2026.
Those were bold choices for a then-teenager. In a sport where so many players do as they’re told, Bichsel spoke his mind. Then he put thought into action, prioritizing his own development and growth over what his NHL and national teams wanted for him.
Thing is, he might have been right about his decision.
Despite some of the shrapnel and frayed relationship with Swiss hockey, things turned out pretty well for Bichsel. He played a major role in Rögle’s Cinderella run to the SHL final and then returned to the AHL for five playoff games. When Chris Tanev was questionable for a game in the NHL playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers, Bichsel was told to be ready for his NHL debut. He never got the call, but instead of holding him back, his unconventional choice propelled him forward.
Back in the spring, fellow Texas Stars defender Alexander Petrovic told me Bichsel left for Sweden as a bit of an overly cautious defender, one trying to find his way. He returned to North America for the AHL playoffs as an imposing force.
“Whatever he did over there, it was the right thing for him to become the guy they think he’ll be,” Petrovic said. “He came back from Sweden, and he was just a bully that controlled the ice.”
And for the Stars to get to where they want to go, that bully might be needed in Dallas this season.
Bichsel hadn’t spoken much about his polarizing decisions until this week in Traverse City, when Dallas Stars prospects played a two-game series against Detroit Red Wings prospects. For him, the decision to return to Sweden came down to two things: comfort and lifestyle.
“It’s less travel than the [AHL], the lifestyle is better,” he tells D. “But in Sweden I felt I had more time to practice. And playing in the SHL in the bigger rinks, it makes me skate more and work more on my skating. So that’s why I chose Sweden; for me, I knew I needed to do what made me better. Now I can close the book on that and try to make the NHL this week [in training camp].”
Bichsel also implicitly trusts the team he built around him. His agent, Frédéric Holdener, and his dad, André, a former professional handball player, are his two biggest confidants. The trio crafted the plan for Bichsel to play in Sweden last season and were involved in the decision not to play at World Juniors. Nevertheless, Bichsel wants to make something clear: he is calling the shots on his career.
“We took those decisions together, but in the end, it’s my call and I need to live with that,” he says. “You need to be responsible for your own choices, right? And I feel like I knew what was best for me, and I think it worked out.”
Not for everyone. Bichsel’s call rubbed some people in Dallas the wrong way. One reason Bichsel’s European Assignment Clause wasn’t discussed publicly was because the Stars didn’t want him to activate it. In some NHL organizations, such disregard of the team’s wishes might poison the waters long-term. But Stars general manager Jim Nill is an especially patient man who has been willing to give second and even third opportunities to players who have made decisions such as this in the past. While the players eventually left the organization, Nill gave extra chances to Julius Honka and Valeri Nichushkin after they pushed to play in Europe instead of North America at points in their Stars tenure.
So it’s no surprise to hear Nill say that if Bichsel forces the issue on the ice, he could be part of the NHL plans this season. Because Bichsel is exactly what the Stars are missing in their defensive grouping. He’s a monstrous 6-foot-6, 235 pounds, possessing the size that dwarfs anyone else on the Stars defense. Unlike other larger players, Bichsel moves well, too. Just don’t mistake skill for softness: Bichsel is one of the most violent players to come through the Stars system in a long time. One scout told me this week he sees the Swiss defender as a “modern-day Derian Hatcher, with better skating.”
That’ll certainly play in a group whose best players lean on finesse. Miro Heiskanen is one of the game’s elite defenders, but his game relies heavily on skating and positioning mixed with skills. Thomas Harley brings a similar profile alongside him. Esa Lindell, who signed a contract extension on Tuesday, is the modern stay-at-home defender. While the Stars splurged on a number of free-agent defensemen to complement them, that trio is the future of this blue-line
None of them, however, put fear into opposing forwards when they cross the blue line. Bichsel has the potential to be both a physical and emotional deterrent to opponents. In both the AHL and SHL, there have been examples of opponents getting worn down simply because of their battles with him.
That makes Bichsel a snug long-term fit alongside that trio, perhaps even as the player the Stars have long sought to pair with Heiskanen on the right side. Yes, Bichsel is also left-handed, but he was notably playing on the right side in Traverse City, an experiment that will continue in training camp. If Heiskanen is the lightning on the left, it’s easy to dream of Bichsel bringing the thunder alongside him.
Texas Stars coach Neil Graham, who coached the prospects in Traverse City, says Bichsel has all the physical tools. It’s just about understanding how to deploy them every night in North America.
“He needs to continue to improve his consistency in his directness,” Graham says. “It’s a quick game on a small ice surface, and he does things heavy and hard. He’s just gotta trust the North American style: moving pucks quick, whether it’s on breakouts or in the neutral zone. And once he does, it’s going to help him find himself in the offensive zone.”
One subject Bichsel doesn’t have issues with is himself. Whether you like him or not, approve of his decisions or not, believe in him or not, Bichsel is indifferent. Although he won’t turn 21 until next May, he talks like a man who knows who he is and what he wants.
It’s a mix of confidence and subtle cockiness. There’s no ego when he speaks so much as a matter-of-factness. Bichsel has thought long and hard about the decisions he has made, and he stands by them.
“People need to realize this is a business,” he says. “It’s not just playing a game; it’s about being in the business of yourself. In the end, it’s not about looking bad or worrying about what other people think. It’s about doing what’s best for the business of you playing hockey at the highest level.”
If that rubs people the wrong way, well, so be it. Probably won’t be the last time that happens, either. But at the rate Bichsel’s game is growing, the brusque comments will soon pale in comparison to how much opponents detest him. That’s a deal the Stars will happily take.
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