Lian Bichsel Returning to Texas Stars for Milwaukee Series

(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)

According to a team source, Swiss defender Lian Bichsel will be joining the Texas Stars ahead of their division semi-final matchup with Milwaukee.

Bichsel, Dallas' first round pick in 2022, started the season with Texas, playing 16 games before activating the European assignment clause in his contract and returning to Europe. There, he played 29 games with Rögle BK in the regular season before an improbable Cinderella run to the SHL finals. Ninth-seeded Rögle did not lose a game until the final, going 10-0 before falling to Skellefteå in five games.

The plan was always to see Bichsel return to Texas when the SHL season concluded. That conclusion simply took far longer than anyone expected. Nine seeds don't often go all the way to the finals, but this one did. Bichsel played significant minutes, often leading all skaters in ice time through the playoff run.

Bichsel has played a lot of intense hockey in the past month, which is good and bad. He's a youngster without a lot of mileage on the tires, but it's also his first time playing this many games in a season. He can come in with a playoff mindset already ingrained and ready to roll.

If he's here, he's going to play. Dallas, as is their prerogative, wants to see the young defender up close and get him into as many meaningful games as they can.