Stankoven’s ‘feistiness’ vital toward Hurricanes winning Stanley Cup

LAS VEGAS -- Logan Stankoven is a Stanley Cup champion at 23, in just his third full season in the NHL.

“For me, it's the greatest day of my life,” Stankoven said in the aftermath of a 3-0 victory for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile on Sunday, a result that ended the Final and made his childhood dream come true. “I'm still a young kid. Not married yet. I don't have kids, so just being able to experience this with my family and my teammates, and all the staff. It’s the work we've put in and how much my family has sacrificed for me that makes it so special.”

Stankoven did the most work, proving critics wrong at every turn, especially those who questioned how his size would translate as he climbed the hockey ladder.

At 5-foot-8, 165 pounds, Stankoven does not possess the frame of a power forward, but that is the game he plays.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he led the Hurricanes in goals with 11 and was fourth in points with 16. He was a plus-8.

In the Final, he had two goals and two assists, including an assist on a goal by linemate Jackson Blake in the clinching game, against a Vegas team that is built around a big, physically imposing blue line.

His goal to start the Carolina comeback in an eventual 4-3 overtime victory in Game 2 was a classic example.

The Hurricanes had their cycle game going and got the puck deep. Stankoven made a beeline behind the net and bumped Vegas defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who had five inches and 40 pounds on him. Stankoven came out of that board battle with the puck, changed directions and scored on a wraparound, beating goalie Carter Hart to the post.

“I mean, he's feisty and it's awesome to see him and the success that he's having.” Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin said on the eve of Game 6. “He's not scared of anything or anyone.”

Slavin recalled a regular-season game this year where Stankoven got into the face of Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals, one of the fiercest players in the game. He laughed as he recalled the encounter.

“He wasn't afraid at all,” Slavin said. “He just has this feistiness to his game. The compete level to his game is what drives him to that area and what keeps him going back to that area.”

It’s always been this way.

Stankoven was undersized when he played for Kamloops of the Western Hockey League, but general manager and coach Shaun Clouston saw past the size of Stankoven’s body to focus on the size of his heart.

“He’s always had something to prove, so I think that has been ingrained in him from a really young age,’ Clouston said the day before Game 6. “He’s always been driven and very competitive.”

While Stankoven was a great player in Kamloops, recording 201 points (79 goals, 122 assists) in his final two regular seasons, it was the postseason where he shone brightest. Across those final two seasons, he played 31 WHL playoff games and had 61 points (27 goals, 34 assists). In the 2023 Memorial Cup, he had nine points (two goals, seven assists) in four games.

“The playoffs, that’s the toughest time of the year, so if you are not competitive, it can be really difficult,” Clouston says. “Obviously, he has a knack, he has scored at every level. Right now, he is scoring in the best league in the world at the most challenging time of the season. It’s remarkable.”

Clouston said part of that comes from Stankoven’s willingness to quiet the outside noise and even his own doubts about some of the size mismatches he can face, like Wilson, who is 6-4, 225 pounds and one of the game’s greatest intimidators.

“It’s almost like there is an emotional button and he pushes it and pushes past,” Clouston said. “I think the fear registers, but his love of scoring pushes him past that. We saw that early on. You don’t score 29 goals as a 16-year-old without going to the net, and when you go to the net there are going to be defensemen there challenging you.”

Stankoven referred to the playoffs as “big-boy hockey” throughout this postseason and admitted to reveling in the challenges it presents. He said he likes when the game gets hard and has to raise his level to meet the moment.

It’s one of the reasons the Hurricanes insisted on him as the centerpiece of the blockbuster trade for Mikko Rantanen to the Dallas Stars on March 7, 2025.

This season, Stankoven found a home playing with Blake, a fellow Mighty Mite at 5-11, 185, and Taylor Hall, the No. 1 pick from the 2010 NHL Draft who became a more complete 200-foot player after joining Carolina in a trade from the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 24, 2005.

They were the spark throughout a postseason in which Carolina lost three of 19 games.

Blake led the team in scoring with 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) and Hall had 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) and was a team-best plus-14. Collectively, the line was plus-30 across the 19 playoff games and regularly caved in the opposing line with their relentless pursuit of the puck.

“We don't expect a score every game, but if we can contribute, that’s great,” Stankoven said. “If not, we want to build momentum for our team and set the next line up for success and get them some O-zone time.”

It proved to be a recipe for success, and it not only allowed Stankoven to prove his doubters wrong yet again, but also accomplish something that for so long seemed impossible.

“It hasn't sunk in just yet,” Stankoven said, standing on the ice surrounded by family in the aftermath of Game 6.  “I always dreamt of lifting the Cup someday, and I never knew it was going to happen this fast. I think when your preparation is great, and you put in the work, you know, good things, will happen.”