Image credit: CFJC Today
STANKOVEN Q&A

Stankoven talks bumping slump, big night against Leafs, Stars’ line juggling, rookie scoring race, repaying parents

Jan 17, 2025 | 6:30 PM

DALLAS — Logan Stankoven is more than halfway through his rookie season in the NHL and his Dallas Stars are among the top teams in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.

The 5-foot-8 forward from Kamloops has six goals and 23 points in 42 games this season.

Stankoven took a few minutes this week to speak to CFJC Today’s Marty Hastings.

Below is the question-and-answer session, which has been edited for length.

MH: How do you assess how the season’s gone for the team so far?
LS: I think it’s been great so far. Lately, we’ve been on a bit of a hot stretch. We do have some guys out of the lineup, but other guys have stepped up and taken on bigger roles. It’s good to see we have a lot of depth on our team.

MH: Who’s been out of the lineup of late?
LS: Lately, it’s been [Tyler] Seguin, [Mason] Marchment and [Roope] Hintz.

MH: Does that give you more of an increased role?
LS: Yeah. I believe tonight [vs. Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 16] I’m moved up to play with [Jamie] Benn and [Matt] Duchene, but the lines are all over the place right now. We’re just trying to see what works and trying to make sure we have a decent amount of depth throughout all four lines.

MH: How challenging is it in the Western Conference right now?
LS: It’s hard. You’ve just got to keep winning games. You can’t keep focusing on the standings because a lot of teams are winning games in our division and conference. It’s been hard to move up. I guess I should say it’s easy to move down if you’re losing games, but winning games, it’s been tough, because teams ahead of us are winning games, too.

MH: Individually, how are you feeling about your season to date?
LS: Production-wise, obviously not ideal, but I think lately I’ve been trying to get back to going to the net. I don’t think I’ve changed my game, even though I had a streak there where I hadn’t scored in a while, but it was nice to see a few go in last game.

MH: Two goals, an assist and a first-star performance in Toronto, what was that night like for you?
LS: It was a good feeling, for sure. I had a lot of people reach out to me after the game and congratulate me and I know my parents were pretty happy about it, too. It’s not an easy league and there are lots of ups and downs, so it was a fun night and I’m going to try and build off that.

MH: Do you have a favourite road building to play in?
LS: Yeah, actually our road trip we just got back from, playing in Montreal was probably the coolest building I’ve been to so far. Just the fans, the history and the atmosphere.

MH: Is there a building and a city you’re not too fond of?
LS: I wasn’t a huge fan of playing in Ottawa. It’s just the location of the rink. It’s not even in downtown Ottawa. It’s out in Kanata, which is more of a suburb. It’s kind of in a weird location.

MH: Have you had a rookie dinner yet and did you have to fork up cash to pay for that?
LS: We haven’t had it yet. I believe it’s coming up before the Four Nations break, when we go out to California. We have a three-game road swing. Each team has a fine fund and apparently there was so much money last year they didn’t even make the rookies pay. I don’t know if that’s going to be the case this year, but I just know the rookies, Thomas Harley and Wyatt Johnston, didn’t have to pay. I’m sure I will have to, but we might get lucky.

MH: How are you feeling about the rookie scoring race?
LS: It’s hard to keep up with that. Every rookie is in a different situation. Some guys are playing 20 minutes a night, 15 minutes night, 12 minutes a night. It’s obviously nice to get those points and try to track down guys, but it’s hard when [Macklin] Celebrini and [Lane] Hutson and those guys are having multiple-point nights, three-point nights. It’s cool to see what they’re doing, but at the same time, I’m having to focus on my own game.

MH: Any exciting purchases of late?
LS: No big purchases yet. Honestly, I’ve tried to give a little bit of my money back to my parents and family. Not a lot, but just a little bit to help them out and almost to kind of repay them for what they’ve done for me in my career. They’ve put a lot of money and effort into me, so I just want to make sure I can repay them some day.

MH: Has Wes [Logan’s father] made any purchases with that money, a new lawnmower, new car or anything like that?
LS: Nothing that I know of yet. I think it’s more paying off bills and stuff. Life can be expensive these days.