Photo Credit: Allen Douglas / Kamloops Blazers
Logan Stankoven is a 2021 NHL Draft eligible forward prospect, who hails from Kamloops, British Columbia. In his 2019-2020 season, his rookie season in the WHL, he shined with the Kamloops Blazers. His performance resulted in him being named the WHL Western Conference Rookie of the Year. Unfortunately for the Kamloops, British Columbia native, he did not bring home the WHL Rookie of the Year award (went to Dylan Guenther of Edmonton Oil Kings), but he put up a strong fight.
Stankoven flourished in his rookie season and was a strong offensive producer for the Blazers. In 59 games played, he recorded 29 goals and 19 assists. Kamloops was truly dominant in the offensive zone and a huge credit for that success goes to Stankoven and his teammate Connor Zary.
This past season, Stankoven wasn’t able to get a ton of playing time as the WHL season was shortened due to COVID-19. While only appearing in six games for the Blazers, he was lights out in the offensive zone. He recorded seven goals and three assists. In addition to his shortened season in the WHL, he was part of Canada’s 2021 IIHF U18 World Championship team. Stankoven had tallied four goals and four assists in the tournament.
Player Profile
D.O.B – February 26, 2003
Nationality – Canada
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height – 5’8
Weight – 170 lbs
Position – Centre
Handedness – Right
Stankoven’s Style Of Play
Similar to Frölunda’s Lucas Raymond, Stankoven plays a high-tempo game and is a menace in the offensive zone. He rushes towards the puck and plays the puck hard. Stankoven has elite forechecking ability and if his opponent has the puck along the boards in their own zone, he applies pressure to limit open lanes and capture possession of the puck. While some prospects are much stronger as a forechecker and are not as strong in the neutral and defensive zones, Stankoven is the opposite. When he is in his own zone and the neutral zone, he does not leave many gaps for his opponents.
If we look at Stankoven’s passing under the hood, he can execute the perfect drop pass in every zone. His drop passing looks synchronized. Stankoven will make you believe that he has no intention of giving up possession of the puck. That is how good he is at drop passing.
The other pass that Stankoven is quite strong at is his saucer pass. If he has possession of the puck in the defensive zone and he spots an open teammate in the neutral zone, but he has a decent amount of traffic in front of him, Stankoven will elect to use his saucer pass to get the puck past traffic and to his open teammate.
On the other hand, Stankoven’s centered passing and cross ice passing will be inaccurate from time-to-time. It is evident that Stankoven is working on his passing, especially his passing on the rush. I’m not concerned about his passing, but it is an area that could use a little bit of improvement.
Stankoven’s skating is an area of his game where it’s solid, but is still being worked on. He has the ability to accelerate with a non power stride. Stankoven will utilize quality crossovers to ignite his acceleration, especially when in transition. His crossovers also allow him to complete tight turns. From an ankle flexion perspective, his knees sits on top of his toes, but it’s not consistent. There are shifts where his knees don’t align on top of his toes. Ultimately, if Stankoven can work on his ankle flexion, you will notice a huge change in his skating ability and his speed will only continue to grow.
Last but not least, let’s talk about Stankoven’s shot. He has a quick release and will occasionally attempt to dangle with the puck right before he shoots from range. By doing so, he can make you believe that he intends to come closer to the crease. Instead, he dangles and fires a wrist shot.
When he is on the power play, Stankoven plays along the left half wall and has strong accuracy from any point along the half wall. At even strength, he seems to be most comfortable with his shot when he is in the slot.
In the highlight reel below, you can check out Stankoven’s four goal night the Victoria Royals from February 15, 2020.
Projection
Top Nine Centerman (NHL).
stats from InStat and EliteProspects
Prospect report written by Josh Tessler. If you would like to follow Josh on Twitter, his handle is @JoshTessler_.
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