Equipped with relentless drive, Canada’s Stankoven takes on key role at WJC

It’s easy to look at the World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta., that was cut down at the knees last winter by COVID and assume it didn’t do much of anything for anybody. The tournament had to be scrapped after a few days of action and the goals and assists accumulated by players were scrubbed from the IIHF record books.

No official decree, though, could take away what Logan Stankoven acquired in the important — albeit truncated — time he spent with Team Canada 12 months ago.

“I was kind of battling at world junior camp for the last few spots and luckily enough I was able to make the team,” Stankoven said. “I was the 13th/14th forward. I wasn’t really seeing any ice at the beginning of the tournament, then (opportunities opened up) and I was able to get in a game against Austria before the tournament shut down. That was a dream come true for me. Just being able to practice and play in some of those games — even though the tournament got cancelled — just being able to compete with those guys (and) play at that pace really helped my game.”

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Stankoven, who’s back with Team Canada in a lead role at the 2023 WJC in Halifax, took it to another level after the shortened event after he returned to the Western Hockey League with his hometown Kamloops Blazers. He was already a fantastic player, having racked up 32 points in 22 games before leaving Kamloops in December that season. But he came back a man on fire. Stankoven, a second-round steal by the Dallas Stars in 2021, scored three points in each of his first, second and fourth games back with the Blazers in January 2022. It took 19 games before somebody was able to keep him off the scoresheet as he finished the year off with an incredible 72 points in 37 games, just shy of two points per game.

In the playoffs, he somehow found another gear, scoring a goal per game as Kamloops advanced all the way to Game 7 of the league semi-final before falling to the Seattle Thunderbirds. Stankoven led the WHL postseason in goals and points (31), despite not participating in the final series.

“When you draft kids, you want to see progression,” said Joe McDonnell, the Stars’ director of amateur scouting. “Logan has progressed, for sure.”

The result of that leap was Canadian Hockey League player-of-the-year honours last spring and prime roles waiting for him at the next two WJC camps he attended, first at the re-do in Edmonton last summer — where he was a top-six forward on the Canadian team that won gold — and again this winter, as Canada prepares to defend that title on the East Coast.

It almost seems silly to talk about the fact Stankoven can play anywhere in a lineup because, when you produce like he does, it only makes sense to put him at the top. But the calling card of this player is his versatility and drive. You know how we’ve been joking for years about Sidney Crosby being the most productive grinder in the NHL? The same sentiment applies to Stankoven.

“His legs just go,” said Blazers coach Shaun Clouston, whose team will host the Memorial Cup in about six months. “Some guys are fast; Logan is fast and he’s quick. His acceleration, his deceleration (into) acceleration again is elite.”

Clouston said Stankoven’s 200-foot game has improved every year in Kamloops and the 19-year-old now kills penalties for the Blazers. He’s a natural right-shot centre, but sometimes swaps out to wing so linemate (and Team Canada teammate) Caeden Bankier can take draws on his strong side. With Canada, Stankoven played preseason games between 2023 draft-eligible stud Adam Fantilli and Arizona Coyotes gem Dylan Guenther. But should Canada’s offence stall, you could easily picture him sliding out to the flank beside No. 1 centre Shane Wright to test out that chemistry. On the power play, he can be your one-timer option in the bumper, or you can push him out to the wall and depend on his vision and passing to make things go.

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Of course, once he turns pro and has to start proving himself all over again, Stankoven could well find himself back in a position where he’ll be asked to do things other than score. Should that happen, it won’t require any delicate communication from the coach.

“He’s going to be able to play up and down your lineup, and the good thing about him is he has no issue with that,” McDonnell said. “He just wants to play, he’s got passion to play hockey. He’ll just do it and he’ll be happy doing it. That’s what sets him apart.”

That drive and focus has certainly helped Stankoven overcome the fact everything he offers comes in a five-foot-eight frame. Not surprisingly, he says the conversation about his stature has quieted as he’s been filling the net. But he’d heard enough already to last a lifetime, no doubt, and the Stars definitely banked on other teams issuing bias against a player who’s become one of their top prospects.

“We rated him in our first round and we had (current Star and emerging rookie-of-the-year candidate) Wyatt Johnston just ahead of him,” McDonnell said. “Logan was right there with him. Once we got to the second round, he was a no-brainer for us. We knew the size factor was always going to be an issue (for other teams), but we looked past that (to) the drive and determination the kid has. He’s a tremendous person. (What we) liked about him was, he plays bigger than his size. He’s stocky and he’s strong; really strong on his feet.”

As you’d expect, Stankoven watches undersized NHLers to see what he can lift from their games. Montreal sniper Cole Caufield is one; Tampa’s do-it-all centre Brayden Point is another, and it’s a credit to Stankoven that you can wholeheartedly say there are elements of both those top-line players’ game in his own. Then you throw in the fact he attacks each shift like a guy trying to prove he simply belongs in the league, and you understand why Kamloops, Canada and the Stars all feel lucky to have him.

“He’s like a pit bull,” McDonnell said. “He just keeps coming at you.”

More from Sportsnet

Taking a look at WJC prospects for Canadian NHL teams (minus the Maple Leafs)

Canadian head coach Williams took road less travelled to world junior spotlight

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