Tales From the Clipped: Logan Stankoven and Wyatt Johnston, Dallas' net-front dogs of war
Net front presence is not just for power forwards.
The other night when Arizona and Dallas squared off, the Coyotes booth talked about Logan Stankoven and Wyatt Johnston. It was about the usual narrative; about two young players giving the Stars a boost, and an injection of youth in an otherwise veteran lineup. But the tone was far, far different than a standard Kids Are Alright bump. The Coyotes weren’t reading their stat sheets. They were warning their team’s fans against the threat level, as if Stankoven and Johnston have been terrorizing the NHL for years.
That tone told the truth. Johnston and Stankoven aren’t your typical prospects. They’re bordering on emerging stars. For the historical record, Johnston’s 2.41 points per hour at EV is 24th among all Stars forwards going back to 2007 — just above Jamie Benn’s 2010-2011 season. Stankoven, at 2.51 points per hour at EV, is 17th — just above Joe Pavelski’s 2021-2022 season. Keep in mind, those are top three forward numbers.
There’s a palpable excitement to their chemistry; as if every shift has the potential to yield a goal. And somehow they’re only getting better. So how they do it besides raw talent? How sustainable is it? And what can we expect in the future?
I will, of course, not forget Jamie Benn in all of this. While I don’t believe Benn is the secret ingredient or anything, I do think — as Darryl Belfry pointed out — that Benn’s mentorship is worth highlighting. Moreover, Stankoven and Johnston are putting Benn’s best traits on display too. However, for the purpose of today’s piece, I’ll be focusing on the younglings.
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