Tales From the Clipped: 'OvenMaster' Logan Stankoven

Let's talk about Dallas' short king.

You’d be hard pressed to imagine a better start to Logan Stankoven’s career.

For young players, it’s an uphill battle every step of the way. First and foremost, they have to convince their coaches that they can be trusted. They all want a responsible, safer player. If they don’t get that, then said player needs to be a gamebreaker; a player with such an outward impact on the game that they can’t be denied. The dynamic within that assessment determines their place in the lineup by the coach, and that determination is purely subjective.

Second, they have to perform. That performance isn’t just on them, but how they’re managed into the roster. A player can play well, but separating themselves from the pack may depend on their linemate. They also have to separate themselves from what Darryl Belfry calls the achievement gap. That is to say, offensive performance can’t be reduced to the traits they leveraged over their less talented peers in juniors. If not then production has to trump reality in lieu of performance if they’re to stay in the lineup. Unless…

…everything is working in complete harmony; unless performance and production collide so efficiently that not even the hockey gods can stop you. That’s the Logan Stankoven Experience right now.

It’s a small sample size, but Stankoven’s four points in five straight games is not an accident. Dallas is outshooting the opposition 43 to 25 when he’s on the ice. When adjusted for minutes, he leads the team in shot attempts per 60, which explains why his even strength shooting percentage is only nine percent, 7th among forwards. His individual expected goals per hour leads the Stars, and by a damn sizeable margin; 1.81, with Joe Pavelski and Wyatt Johnston just behind him at 1.32 and 1.25 respectively.

The tale of the tape is clear: it would be hockey malpractice to send Stankoven back down. Let’s get crazy and go one step further. It would be hockey malpractice to send Stankoven back down even if he doesn’t score a goal for the rest of the regular season. Crazy? So are his shifts. And so is Stankoven’s potential.