Logan Stankoven
2020-21 Team: Kamloops Blazers (#11)
Date of Birth: February 26th, 2003
Place of Birth: Kamloops, BC, CAN
Ht: 5-foot-8 Wt: 174 pounds
Shoots: Right
Position: F
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2021 first-year eligible
Rankings
- NHL Central Scouting: 31st (amongst NA skaters)
- FCHockey: 28th
- The Hockey Writers (Zator): 14th
- The Hockey Writers (Baracchini): 28th
- The Hockey Writers (Forbes): 36th
- Smaht Scouting: 29th
- The Draft Analyst: 105th
- Dobber Prospects: 23rd
The WHL had a prolonged delay in the start of the 2020-21 season, which finally began on Feb. 26th, 2021. Not all the teams started playing at the same time, and the BC division had an even later start than the rest, so the Kamloops Blazers have only played four games at the time of this writing. This delay in the WHL has no doubt dropped the stock of Stankoven slightly, as scouts just haven’t had as many viewings of him during this all-important season. However, he may benefit from recency bias, as he will be playing games closer to the draft than most other top prospects.
Logan Stankoven had an excellent rookie campaign for the Blazers in 2019-20, scoring 29 goals and 19 assists for 48 points in 59 games. He just missed out on being the WHL Rookie of the Year, as that honor went to Dylan Guenther of the Edmonton Oil Kings, who had 59 points in 58 games.
Stankoven has great wheels, his skating being one of his best assets. He can break away from the opposition if given even a slim chance and beat defenders out wide if their gap control isn’t good. It isn’t just straight-line speed, though; he can pivot and turn to create space for himself and teammates as well. His other great attribute is his shot. He has one of the quickest and most accurate in the class. He can beat WHL goalies from beyond the circles, and while it’s unclear whether he can translate to success against NHL-caliber goalies, it is a clear asset for him.
The main areas he needs to improve upon are his playmaking and problem-solving. He favors his shot, which makes sense, but he sometimes misses open teammates. He also, at times, can skate himself into trouble in the offensive zone, and as the pace of the game gets faster, he might have some trouble adjusting. Overall, though, the tools are there for Stankoven to develop into a top-six forward.
Logan Stankoven – NHL Draft Projection
Most outlets have Stankoven as a late first-round pick, but that can change as he gets more games under his belt. With the WHL delaying their start to the season, other prospects have had more views than him. I would expect him to climb up the boards of both pundits and NHL teams. I expect his name to be called on day one of the draft.
Quotables
“Similar to Frolunda’s Lucas Raymond, Stankoven plays a high-tempo game and is a menace in the offensive zone.” –Smaht Scouting
“The elite feet to go with his great 1-on-1 ability and a hard shot that allows him to be very dangerous off the rush….he’s one of the best goal-scorers in the draft.” – Corey Pronman, The Athletic (The 2021 NHL Draft Ranking: Corey Pronman’s top 35 prospects)
“He can score from anywhere in the offensive zone, unafraid to shoot from odd angles or get the puck on net from distance.” – Tony Ferrari, Dobber Prospects
Strengths
- Skating
- Shot
Under Construction (Improvements to Make)
The biggest knock on Stankoven is his size. If he could grow at least a couple of inches, that won’t be as much of an issue. He tends to lose more puck battles than he should, but that will change when he gets stronger.
NHL Potential
Stankoven has the potential to evolve into a top-line scoring winger but would need a fair amount of development and improvement in certain areas of his game to get there. The more likely outcome is a middle-six winger with fair to good offensive upside.
Risk-Reward Analysis
Risk – 4/5, Reward – 3/5
Fantasy Hockey Potential
Offense – 7/10, Defense 5/10
Awards/Achievements
- Most Goals in U15 CSSHL (2017-18)
- BC U18 All-Star Team (2018-19)
- BC U18 Most Assists (2018-19)
- BC U18 Most Goals (2018-19)
- BC U18 Most Points (2018-19)
- BC U18 Player of the year (2018-19)