It seems like a highly touted Dallas Stars prospect is a prospect no more.

Seizing his opportunity in the NHL due in part to injuries but also to his impressive play, Lian Bichsel has made himself a permanent part of the lineup for the Dallas Stars.

The 20 year-old made his NHL debut on December 12th when the coaching staff was trying to decide who they wanted to fill their last blue-line spot with. At that point, both Brendan Smith and Matt Dumba were struggling to ink their name into the lineup each night. 

Since then, he has been sent up and down between the AHL and NHL, but due to long-term injuries to Miro Heiskanen and Nils Lundkvist, he has had the chance to prove why he should stay in the NHL for not just this season but years to come.

Assistant General Manager Mark Janko spoke with members of the DLLS podcast and stated that Bichsel was in the NHL to stay. Janko was asked what was the biggest difference from his first game to his current play and Janko cited his attention to detail. 

Janko said that Bichsel will always have his size and physicality to his advantage, but he has been working in the AHL and Alain Nasreddine, the Stars defensive coach, on making sure that his positioning is correct, that he's getting sticks in lanes and that he's reading the play correctly. 

Bichsel adds the bite to the lineup that Dallas has been missing for quite some time. Drafted 18th overall in the 2022 draft, Stars fans have been impatiently waiting his arrival. In 16 games, Bichsel has recorded five points, including two goals, and 64 hits. 

Because the Four Nations Face-Off tournament is currently going on, the Stars coaching staff decided it would be beneficial for Bichsel to get some playing time in the AHL instead of being off for two weeks. However, it is expected that he will return to the NHL once the regular season resumes.

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