Prospect Info: 2022-23 Prospect Development Tracker

[Zrhutch]

Spin zone- any lower than expected prospect rankings are ok because our best forward, defenseman, and goalie on the main roster are all 23 or under. Still think the system is better than 15th though.

 

[Captain Awesome]

Spin zone- any lower than expected prospect rankings are ok because our best forward, defenseman, and goalie on the main roster are all 23 or under. Still think the system is better than 15th though.

Last year for The Athletic Wheeler had the Stars as 10th. I think the three headed monster improved their stock as the year went on, but his list also had Harley and Oettinger on it. Maybe Harley still counts, but obviously Oettinger has graduated. I tend to agree with you, it seems like the high end of this group would have them ranked higher than 15th, but I'll be curious to see if they lost much ground with what looks like a pretty meh draft this year at first blush.

 

[Kcb12345]

Christian Kyrou will be attending. Johnston will not be due to his injury (precautionary probably still)

 

[MrHeiskanen]

I thought Stankoven said he was going to skating camp for a week after dev camp and then going to world Juniors camp? Guess not.

 

[BG44]

I thought Stankoven said he was going to skating camp for a week after dev camp and then going to world Juniors camp? Guess not.

This appears to be 2023 WJC camp. No 2022 players are listed because they'll be preparing for the August tournament is my guess. Bedard isn't even attending.

 

[serp]

If this a 2023 WJC camp there's a decent chance Johnston won't be there either.

 

[BG44]

If this a 2023 WJC camp there's a decent chance Johnston won't be there either.

Not a decent chance. Already announced he's out as an injury precaution.

 

[jballa95]

Bichsel has been cut from the 2022 Swiss U20 team for not attending the team's summer camp.

Lian Bichsel will not be part of Switzerland's World Junior team

The 18-year-old defenseman, who was recently drafted by the Dallas Stars, did not attend two camps of the national team despite having been called upon.

swisshockeynews.ch

 

[Captain Awesome]

Not a decent chance. Already announced he's out as an injury precaution.

Will he even be U20 in 2023? Not sure how the eligibility cutoffs work.

 

[serp]

Not a decent chance. Already announced he's out as an injury precaution.

I meant the tournament

 

[jballa95]

Will he even be U20 in 2023? Not sure how the eligibility cutoffs work.

He would be, yes.

 

[jballa95]

An easy way to think about WJC U20 eligibility is that most players are eligible to go in their D+2 year.

But technically it's their birth year + 20 as their latest eligibility. So someone born in 2003 would be allowed to play in the 2023 WJC but not someone born in 2002.

 

[Kcb12345]

Bichsel has been cut from the 2022 Swiss U20 team for not attending the team's summer camp.

Lian Bichsel will not be part of Switzerland's World Junior team

The 18-year-old defenseman, who was recently drafted by the Dallas Stars, did not attend two camps of the national team despite having been called upon.

swisshockeynews.ch

Jeez. Based on the main boards it seems the Swiss team is poorly run and has done costly stuff like this before to their team

 

[BG44]

It Sucks Bichsel isn't going to be able to participate, but that does seem like the Swiss team is presenting this like he's asking for special treatment rather than just rest and recovery which was the truth. That's a douche thing to do to a teenager, manipulate the story to your narrative like he was just being selfish or not thinking about the team.

 

[BG44]

I meant the tournament

That makes no sense. If he's not in the NHL, they're not going to pass on Johnston because he was hurt during summer camp. They'll have a selection camp in December that he'll clearly be at if he's not in the NHL or injured.

If you're referring to the 2022 WJC tournament in August ... no 2022 WJC participants are even attending the camp so he already wasn't on that tournament roster. I'm sure some of these guys could be replacements for players bowing out, but Johnston not attending that summer camp because of injury means he's not going to be part of the selection process for August.

 

[serp]

That makes no sense. If he's not in the NHL, they're not going to pass on Johnston because he was hurt during summer camp. They'll have a selection camp in December that he'll clearly be at if he's not in the NHL or injured.

If you're referring to the 2022 WJC tournament in August ... no 2022 WJC participants are even attending the camp so he already wasn't on that tournament roster. I'm sure some of these guys could be replacements for players bowing out, but Johnston not attending that summer camp because of injury means he's not going to be part of the selection process for August.

I'm meant that as a comment that he'll be in the NHL. If he's not yes he'll be at the WJC but i think he'll be busy.

 

[Captain Awesome]

An easy way to think about WJC U20 eligibility is that most players are eligible to go in their D+2 year.

But technically it's their birth year + 20 as their latest eligibility. So someone born in 2003 would be allowed to play in the 2023 WJC but not someone born in 2002.

Thanks for the clarity. I guess they should call it the U21 then, kind of a misnomer.

 

[Captain Awesome]

It Sucks Bichsel isn't going to be able to participate, but that does seem like the Swiss team is presenting this like he's asking for special treatment rather than just rest and recovery which was the truth. That's a douche thing to do to a teenager, manipulate the story to your narrative like he was just being selfish or not thinking about the team.

My first reaction without knowing the details was definitely confusion, talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Not like the Swiss are overflowing with elite talent. Definitely out of that top 5 + Czech republic and Slovakia tier, in a third tier with countries like Germany that can’t really afford to be snubbing talent.

 

[BG44]

My first reaction without knowing the details was definitely confusion, talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Not like the Swiss are overflowing with elite talent. Definitely out of that top 5 + Czech republic and Slovakia tier, in a third tier with countries like Germany that can’t really afford to be snubbing talent.

I think it's a great plan for two 50-year-old men to grandstand and wag their fingers at a teenager.

They're definitely the ones that chose to make this a story. I wouldn't agree with the decision, but there's nothing wrong with saying we're going in a different direction if you aren't able to attend the camp. To publically troll the kid and try and shame him for the decision is an entirely different, douche decision. Every single Swiss article I find had headlines like "Young star Bichsel refuses U20 national squads" or "The young man did not show up at the national camps" and "Lian #Bichsel does not receive any special treatment from the Swiss U20 national team". Even the Swiss media is painting it like he skipped town and didn't show up. Despite the fact that for weeks apparently he's communicated this plan to them.

Every other country has multiple top players skipping the tournament entirely to prepare for making the NHL this fall. Every other country announced that the player was going to not participate and simply replaced him without making a fuss. Rather than back out, Bichsel simply said he'd prefer some rest after a busy summer and join the team later. The only reasonable response is yes or no ... not publically trying to drag the kid and make it sound like he's being selfish. I don't see Sweden throwing Eklund under the bus who isn't even offering to play. Canada would have to condemn 5 or 6 players that are not participating in an unplanned tournament.

It's a bad look for the Swiss. As I said, you could have very easily denied the request without the childish drama. It's a bad look for those middle age men to get outclassed by a teen (granted he obviously likely didn't write his own statement ... but still). I mean if the translation is accurate, it sounds like they're threatening his future with the national team as well which is super childish and dramatic.

 

[Speyer]

I wouldn't worry about this as a Dallas fan. In the last few years about 10 players have been excluded from tournaments in a similar fashion for no fault of their own. In fact this "affair" tells you more about how our hockey program is run than about Bichsels character. Our Federation is run by a bunch of ex players from the Swiss league who never made the NHL and now apparently need to compensate that fact by imposing their power on young players that will reach career heights that they never could themselves. For Bichsel it might even be better this way. The Swiss team wasnt going to be competitive this year anyway. So focusing on the next season in Leksands might be more valuable for him than joining his national team on their suicide mission.

 

[LT]

Seems pretty stupid for the Swiss org to adopt policies that seem to isolate talent trying to play internationally.

 

[MrHeiskanen]

Seems dumb to cut the kid, but I am a bit confused how he is not available for Dallas development camp AND Swiss training camp. Does anyone else find it odd that he isn't available for any summer training camps?

Would be nice to get a bit more insight on what he has been doing since getting drafted until today.

 

[BG44]

Seems dumb to cut the kid, but I am a bit confused how he is not available for Dallas development camp AND Swiss training camp. Does anyone else find it odd that he isn't available for any summer training camps?

Would be nice to get a bit more insight on what he has been doing since getting drafted until today.

It sounds like Bichsel was negotiating attending camp with the Swiss for a few weeks now, and the best assumption is that Dallas and Bichsel's team thought they could get to a peaceful resolution. This is all coming out now because today was the Swiss flight for Finland to play in the pre-tournament they wanted him at. That was the significance of today. Because he didn't get on the flight, the middle-aged dynamic duo put out the statement to defend the honor of a nation against the brashness of youth.

 

[MrHeiskanen]

It sounds like Bichsel was negotiating attending camp with the Swiss for a few weeks now, and the best assumption is that Dallas and Bichsel's team thought they could get to a peaceful resolution. This is all coming out now because today was the Swiss flight for Finland to play in the pre-tournament they wanted him at. That was the significance of today. Because he didn't get on the flight, the middle-aged dynamic duo put out the statement to defend the honor of a nation against the brashness of youth.

None of that answers my questions though? How is a European player whose season ended late March/early April unavailable for Dallas development camp/Swiss world junior camp because they need rest and vacation?

To me, it is very confusing how his training schedule could be setup so poorly.

For a player like Grush or Bourque, it makes perfect sense, they just finished playing hockey three weeks ago but if you look at Bichsels schedule.. it leaves one confused.

Missing the camp and the tournament doesnt really matter as the August tournament is going to be stupid anyway, but I just don't understand unavailability for both Dallas Dev/Swiss Camp.

 

[BG44]

None of that answers my questions though? How is a European player whose season ended late March/early April unavailable for Dallas development camp/Swiss world junior camp because they need rest and vacation?

To me, it is very confusing how his training schedule could be setup so poorly.

For a player like Grush or Bourque, it makes perfect sense, they just finished playing hockey three weeks ago but if you look at Bichsels schedule.. it leaves one confused.

Missing the camp and the tournament doesnt really matter as the August tournament is going to be stupid anyway, but I just don't understand unavailability for both Dallas Dev/Swiss Camp.

That was answered earlier by the player and the agent. He's been training for next season while training for the combine immediately when the season ended (that's normal for draft eligibles going to the combine). Flew to North America to participate in the combine and returned home. Continued training for the season. Flew to North America for the draft, and then he immediately returned home, asked for a 2-week vacation, and then he was going to join the Swiss a week before the tournament.

Nothing about that seems odd. His only point was he's not had a break since the start of last season because he immediately began preparing for the combine, and he didn't immediately want to start a camp after returning home that would roll into a tournament that rolls immediately into the start of the SHL pre-season.

As you said, it's probably best for him, but I would imagine the answer to him not coming to Dallas was that no one involved thought the Swiss would be that petty. Otherwise, he would have just stayed in North America if they weren't going to let him participate. Instead, the Swiss rescinded his invitation formally at the last second after he'd already missed development camp in Dallas.

Considering most high-profile players are completely backing out of the tournament, and none of those national teams have said a peep, it's a pretty pathetic look for the Swiss IMO.

Part of me at least wonders if this has anything to do with him leaving the NLA. His home team wouldn't give him ice time so last season he felt like Sweden gave him the best opportunity to play. He ended up signing a 2-year deal. No clue if that could be it, but their flimsy excuse didn't make a ton of sense. It's hardly uncommon though for other Euros to go to Sweden or Finland to develop.

His logic for the move was sound. Even though the Swiss league and Sweden both have quite a few imports, the SHL more than the NLA is willing to play teenagers. He felt like it was his best opportunity to play against men, and considering the Swedish junior system does actually produce NHL draft picks, I would imagine their junior league is also better than the Swiss junior league which really doesn't produce many draft picks (I'm specifically talking at 18 years old).