The Other Stars: Logan Stankoven separates himself from Mavrik Bourque as Texas continues to falter

It's been a tough year for the Texas Stars. Just not for Logan Stankoven.

Logan Stankoven original artwork by Ryan Konzelman.

The Texas Stars are 2-8 in their last 10. That’s by far the worst stretch of any team. Even the last place Bridgeport Islanders, who are nearly 15 points below the Stars, have won more games in their last 10. We’ll get to why in a bit (with some video clips), but no matter what happens to Texas, their two main stars haven’t slowed down.

In time this feature will be something a bit more broad. I know plenty of Stars fans want to know more about Lian Bichsel in Sweden, and Aram Minnetian, currently with Boston College. I know that even less Stars fans want to know about previously(and currently)-heralded European prospects like Daniel Ljungman, Albert Sjoberg, and Arno Tiefensee. And you know what? I do too! But this year is unique. It just so happens almost all of Dallas’ primary talent is in the AHL, with seven of its top 10 in my Defending Big D September rankings.

Just saying; that’s why this has been a running feature rather than a look at Dallas’ prospects on the whole. This feature will change in the future, especially once Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque enter the NHL. That future could have been here yesterday. For now, it’s in Cedar Park.

Stankoven: snatching hearts and jacking marks

When comparing and contrasting elite players/prospects, it’s easy to tear one down — however subtle, minor, or unintentional — in order to build the other up. Even I’m probably guilty of doing that. Bourque is the truth. But so is Stankoven.

I’ll never forget that shift in overtime versus Colorado (preseason). Nathan MacKinnon, arguably one of hockey’s three best players, tried to burn past Stankoven, and Stankoven, mustering as much horsepower as his 5’7 frame could allow, didn’t get beat. It was, frankly, an amazing display of athleticism. But physical tools with toolsy wit is what separates the talented from the everday’ers. And Stankoven has it.

This is actually played pretty well by the defender, Markus Niemelainen (the former third round pick played 23 games for Edmonton last season, it should be noted). Niemelainen, it should also be noted, is 6’6.

The chip along the boards is nice, and it allows Stankoven to go through Niemelainen rather than around. But it’s that slick inside positioning he transitions with to slingshot back towards the interior of the ice that makes it so so sweet.

Stankoven has a knack for these coast-to-coast attacks. Part of what I love about his game is that he scoots through the defensive zone like the opponent’s net is in it. His crossovers make him hard to contain, which is why he managed to pull off the same move, this time against a different defenseman (Cam Dineen).

I don’t necessarily advocate for seeing Stankoven in Dallas this season. But it’s incredibly clear that he can’t stay much longer, and certainly not into next season. Age and maturity are not synonymous. Stankoven may be the youngest player on the Texas Stars (I didn’t double check this, granted), but in terms of day-one impact; I would argue he’s Dallas’ most pro-ready prospect.

Bourque: still tough

As I argued the other day: Bourque is a playmaking dawg. And while the weekend wasn’t the most memorable hockey stretch for him, his presence on the boxscore is never or lack of trying. This was a hell of an effort.

Texas’ defense: its weakest link

Texas has two problems. The first is that it no longer has Lian Bichsel. The second is that the rest is bad.

I was a big proponent of pairing Bichsel with Christian Kyrou while the big Swiss defender was here. There’s a good reason NOT to do that: they were both, AHL rookies. I’ve always hated this line of thinking though — and this is not directed at Neil Graham, as there may be other factors that informed his decision — because it’s such a negative foundation. “We’re not sure if they can handle it, so let’s minimize their weaknesses instead of leveraging their strengths.” With Bichsel able to control territory so well, it seemed more logical to pair him with a defender who could capitalize on the territory gained (in this case, Kyrou).

Instead Kyrou has mostly paired with 30-year old veteran, and former NHLer, Derrick Pouliot. Pouliot is not a territorial three-zone defender like Bichsel, who absolutely dominated despite his profile as a ‘shutdown’ type. Pouliot is your prototypical puck mover; just not one good enough to be an everyday NHLer. They’ve been awful since jump street. And Friday night was yet another display.

I don’t have an issue with pairing two puck movers together. In fact, I feel like this type of pairing is not explored enough. It’s important to challenge stereotypes. What hurts Kyrou and Pouliot is that they are stereotypes. They know what to do with the puck, but they’re less adept without it.

Kyrou in particular needs to be sheltered. There’s just no two ways about it. I can’t think of a worse clip than the one below: lack of hustle, lack of awareness, and worst of all given his profile, lack of puck handling. Kyrou starts the clip facing the ‘Ranch Water’ billboard’ in the corner, wearing #25.

Dallas has been dynamite drafting defensemen in the first round between Harley, Heiskanen, and Bichsel. However, their drafting beyond the first round has been questionable at best. Kyrou over Lane Hutson, Artyom Grushnikov over J.J. Moser, Tristan Bertucci over Hunter Brzustewicz…none of which were hindsight picks, it should be noted. These are just brutal.

A digression

My point here isn’t to make a mountain out of a molehill. I imagine that good drafting is like good bandwidth. I’d rather be the team with the 2017 haul than the team with Hutson, Moser, and Brzustewicz. I want to be clear about why I’m being critical. It’s not that better players went after. It’s that these players switch between outright projects (Kyrou) or outright depth (Grushnikov). It’s as if all the nuance they seemed to identify with players like Heiskanen and Bichsel are ditched for extreme ends of a spectrum that no longer exists. Neither Kyrou nor Grushnikov will every be anything close to territorial defenders; at their absolute best, they might be special teams merchants. But that’s it. Feel free to save this for something you can throw in my face in the future, because I’d love to be wrong. Hutson and Brzustewicz are not sure things, just as Kyrou and Grushnikov are not sure bets to not make the NHL cut. But if I can be excited about a prospect whose future I don’t know for certain, you better believe I can be disappointed too. Just saying. Full transparency here, folks.

As we were…

Because of Dallas’ drafting of defensemen beyond the first round, there’s no where to turn to. Alex Petrovic is just too worn at this point. Yes, he’s only 31, but he played a bruising style that included a NHL stretch of five seasons. I’d argue that the only reason he’s not in the NHL is because he’s no longer what he once was. Pouliot and Kyrou are not it. Michael Karow and Jacob Murray are warm bodies and therefore not it. Grushnikov, while good, is good at one thing, which is rush defense. Gavin White has the physical tools but not the spatial ones. (Although he’s the defender I notice the most, and broadly speaking I mean this in the best way.)

The Texas Stars really are just the sum of their offensive stars at this point, and whatever good night Matt Murray or Remi Poirier decide to have. To be fair, injuries to Jerad Rosburg and Gavin Bayreuther didn’t help. If Dallas were healthy, and Bichsel stayed, you’re probably looking at a top six of Bayreuther-Petrovic, Bichsel-Kyrou (in my perfect world), and Pouliot-White. Although Grushnikov belongs in there, that’s still a way better blueline.