The Other Stars: Mavrik Bourque and Logan Stankoven's 40-Second Shift
And what it teaches us once they make that inevitable trip up I-35.
Most of you aren’t here to talk about the Texas Stars. And that’s cool because neither am I. I’m here for a very small handful of players I think have translatable skills, and that’s it. Also, nobody does it better than Stephen Meserve. But I’ll veer off script for a second and note that the Southern Stars have been in something of a freefall. Before last night’s Iowa game, they had lost six straight, allowing 21 goals during that stretch.
With Lian Bichsel back in Sweden playing for Rogle (and still getting quality minutes), Dallas doesn’t actively have a number one defender. They have a collection of veterans and struggling prospects. Forward-wise, their production has slowed down considerably as a group. Mavrik Bourque and Logan Stankoven have slowed down too, but not as dramatically as you’d think.
The ensuing weeks will be an interesting test for the wonder twins. Will they single-handedly pull Texas out of their slump? Will they become frustrated if they can’t — or if the support’s not there to help pull Texas out of their slump? Given their dominance for what feels like seemingly every game, the next few weeks could be an interesting case study for a grander version of score effects. How much will the fate of Texas’ squad weigh on them?
This is that nebulous area hockey that nerdonauts get stereotyped for not “believing” in; the value of grit, determination, and leadership. Speaking for myself, I think this is a dumb dichotomy of latent variables versus expressed variables. It doesn’t help us understand value either. It’s no different than describing a player as grading high in skating, hockey sense, puck handling, or shooting. No matter how high you think they are (phrasing!), the real question is what it adds up to. For Bourque and Stankoven, we know it’s part of the equation because they’ve been leaders their entire junior careers. Now they’re leaders in the AHL, figuratively, and literally. And amidst a slump, they each notched two points with Stankoven finally getting the lead (47 to Bourque’s 46).
What follows is a nine minute video of a 40-second shift (technically 38 but 38 probably doesn’t SEO as well) of what I think are Bourque and Stankoven’s traits packed into one clip. I’m gonna do something different today, and I’m gonna talk over that shift, describing what stands out, and why these two are not just special, but (certified) translatable forwards for the NHL.
Sidenote: I haven’t been fond of the podcasts, so perhaps this will work as a middle ground between analysis that is not always written and an audio format that isn’t always meandering. Just, you know — with video!