Why the Stars need to get over Lian Bichsel sitting out of the World Juniors

Sometimes when the long hockey season wraps up in the Spring, some hockey players like to unwind and relax over the summer. As you saw with the Dallas Stars players, many went back to their home countries to unwind and attended teammates weddings. Unfortunately for Lian Bichsel, some people are disappointed that he wants to relax before his next season starts in the fall.

This past week it was announced that Lian Bichsel will not be apart of Switzerland’s World Junior Team in August. According to the article, Switzerland’s head coach Marco Bayer and Director of National Teams Lars Weibel said they were disappointed in hearing that he would not join the preparation camp in Finland.

They also went on to say that they weren’t going to give Bichsel any “special treatment” just because he had a busy schedule. They ended their joint statement by saying his club team Leksand and the Dallas Stars are “disappointed” in his decision to decline their invitation.

Later, Bichsel’s management went on to say that he had an extensive summer schedule and that he hasn’t had a break until July 16th and he needed two weeks to relax. Here is why that I think sitting out could benefit him down the line in his career.

Bichsel is currently playing over in Sweden with Leksland IF in the SHL which is an adult professional hockey league. It kind of reminds you of Dallas Mavericks Point Guard Luka Doncic signing with Real Madrid in his early teens.

Bichsel hasn’t had a break this summer from doing his own rigorous training to being drafted by the Dallas Stars. The last thing that you want to do to a young hockey player is overload him with constant hockey without a break. It could cause mental health issues and possibly lose interest in playing hockey.

By him deciding to sit out of the World Juniors in August will give him that chance to relax before returning to Sweden to play hockey this fall. If he were to participate in the World Juniors, he wouldn’t get that chance before Leksands Training Camp. He’s really not gaining extra experience playing in the World Juniors.

Now it was probably a bad idea on his part not to contact both his clubs and let them know he wasn’t going to participate until the last minute. If the Stars can get over him sitting out of the World Juniors and look past his mistake, they might have their next physical defenseman that could help them get back to the Stanley Cup Finals.

If you haven’t seen Blackout Dallas’s draft grade on Lian Bichsel and the other draft picks, you can check out the article here.