Lian Bichsel

Bichsel is a 6’5″ left shot defender who has the ability and awareness to play both the left and right side. He is a bit of a knock kneed skater, but we feel with added core strength his return leg will eventually come underneath him with a flat edge. While in defensive zone coverage he shows an understanding that he needs to remain on the net side of the puck battle, but there are times when we watched playing in the SHL against seasoned professionals that smaller and quicker forwards were able to roll off of contact into the open ice behind him. Honestly, this is not something that concerns us. We feel that as he gains strength and begins to understand leverage his athleticism will allow him to maintain solid positioning. In transition he works to be an out for his partner and we like his willingness to use his feet to gain lines or create passing lanes. He is slated to return to Leksand next season and we feel playing on the larger ice surface for another year will help his overall development into an NHLer.