NHL World Juniors Lian Bichsel Photo Credit: Lassi Alanen

The 2023 World Juniors Ice Hockey Championships began on Boxing Day with a bang. An NHL first-round pick put on a dazzling display for his country to lead them to a win.

Switzerland and Finland battled in a hotly-contested game that went to overtime. In the end, the Swiss defeated Finland and were aided by a big name. Lian Bichsel, first-round pick in the 2022 Draft, put on a show on the way to creating Switzerland’s game-winner.

The sequence began for Bichsel, who was selected 18th overall by the Dallas Stars last summer, on one end of the ice and culminated on the other. Lassi Alanen, Director of European Scouting for Elite Prospects, tweeted a video of Bichsel’s great work. Lassi tweeted, “This OT sequence from Lian Bichsel to win the game for Switzerland was something else.”

What a sequence, indeed. Bichsel played great defense on the Finland player with the puck on his stick. He picked at their pocket, thieved the puck, kept it under heavy duress, and dished it off. Teammate Attilio Biasca potted the chance, which gave Bichsel a well-earned assist, as TSN Sports tweeted.

That is about as good as it gets for a hockey play. Alanen noted that this was just the tip of the iceberg. It was the capper to a “monster performance” against Finland, as Alanen put it.

That’s quite the start to the World Juniors for Bichsel. If his start is any indication, he could be in for one heck of a tournament.

[Lassi Alanen, TSN Sports]

About Chris Novak

Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022