Dallas has two different development tests on defense

Thomas Harley averaged 23:03 per game for Dallas last season. Lian Bichsel averaged 15:40. Put those clocks side by side and the difference in responsibility is immediate, even though both defensemen appeared on the Stars’ initial active roster announced Monday.

Both are in the group of seven defensemen Dallas selected to begin the season. Their last-season workloads suggest why it would be a mistake to evaluate their progress with identical scoring expectations. Harley has already carried a large share of the game; Bichsel has a smaller base from which to build.

The useful question is not whether Bichsel can reproduce Harley’s point total, or whether Harley must keep scoring at a particular rate to justify heavy minutes. It is whether each player handles the responsibilities attached to his share of the game. Defense is a position where the box score can illuminate a performance without coming close to describing all of it.

Harley’s minutes make every detail matter

Harley played 70 games in 2025-26 and finished with six goals and 30 assists for 36 points. He took 113 shots, scored once on the power play and was credited with four game-winning goals. Those are valuable offensive contributions from the back end, especially when paired with 23:03 of nightly ice time.

More time creates more opportunity to affect a game, for better or worse. If Dallas again gives Harley a substantial nightly assignment, the evaluation should reflect the consistency that assignment demands. A productive offensive shift is valuable, but the work continues after the scoring chance has passed.

Harley’s 36 points should therefore be treated as added value, not a nightly quota. A heavy-minute performance includes moving the puck out cleanly, closing space without creating a second problem, recovering after a broken play and keeping a shift from stretching into trouble. His scoring line confirms that he can help offensively.

It does not settle whether the broader job was executed well on any particular night.

Esa Lindell offers a sense of the scale. He averaged 23:14 across 82 appearances in 2025-26 and produced 32 points. Harley’s nightly workload was close to Lindell’s, with a slightly higher points total in fewer games. That makes Harley’s production worth taking seriously without pretending points describe all the responsibilities of a defenseman.

Bichsel’s smaller role deserves a different measuring stick

Bichsel appeared in 50 games, averaging 15:40 and 19.44 shifts per game. He scored four goals and four assists for eight points while taking 27 shots. The offensive gap beside Harley is obvious. The responsibility gap is just as important.

Bichsel’s 14.8% shooting percentage was higher than Harley’s 5.3%, but 27 shots form a small base for judging repeatable offense. A few goals can move that percentage sharply, so it should not be used to demand a sudden scoring identity. By the same token, eight points alone cannot establish that Bichsel handled his defensive work poorly.

The numbers describe production; they do not replace the assignment attached to it.

For Bichsel, I would start with the first pass under pressure, the ability to close a gap without overcommitting and the decisions made when a shift stretches longer than planned. Those are practical areas to watch as the new season begins. Better execution there would provide a persuasive case for greater responsibility, even before it showed up in his point total.

If Bichsel receives additional ice time, the sensible standard is repeated execution in the job he has, followed by evidence that he can handle more. That is different from asking him to become Harley on the scoresheet. The two defensemen may eventually face overlapping demands, but Monday’s roster announcement did not say that they currently do.

Dallas can ask more of both players while asking different things. If Harley carries another heavy workload, sustained execution should accompany his offense. If Bichsel earns additional minutes, their quality should matter more than the size of his next scoring total. A defense develops through those separate gains; it does not need every player to arrive by the same route.

Sources

Dallas Stars: roster announcement

The Hockey News: Dallas roster

NHL: 2025–26 Dallas statistics