Does an inch really matter? That depends on who’s asking.
There are those who’d suggest an inch matters an awful lot, the scientific community among them. After all, countless hours went into defining the measure, with the specifics debated and defined and ultimately settled at some point so long ago that most people have probably never had reason to care about how the unit came to be.
Logan Stankoven (John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)
As the story goes, the creation of the inch dates back more than a millennium. It has, at different times, been designated as the depth of a wound, the width of an average man’s thumb and, most commonly, the length of three barleycorns, all of which seem so unbelievably imprecise and antiquated that it’s hard to believe the latter managed to remain the accepted dimension well into the 1800s. It wasn’t until 1959, more than four decades after Swedish inventor Carl Edvard Johansson set the standard at 25.4 millimeters, that the United States officially adopted the modern measure.
This respect for provenance and concern for precision is all good and well, too, but ask any bad carpenter or good bartender and you’ll learn accurate measurements are for the eggheads. And the same appears to hold true for the good folks reading the tapes and compiling player information in dressing rooms and league offices throughout hockey.
You see, if we’re to believe the AHL, Logan Stankoven stepped on the ice last season for the Texas Stars at 5-foot-7. But when he made his NHL debut in Dallas a few months later, the Stars listed Stankoven at 5-foot-8. So, barring a sudden growth spurt or a pair of impressively thick socks, someone here has incorrect information. But perhaps that brings us back to the bigger question: does an inch really matter? Because the truth is whether the mark above Stankoven’s head is 67 inches on a bad day or 68 on a good one, the narrative stays the same. And you can trust that he’s heard it all before, too – the handwringing over his height or concerns he wouldn’t be able to stand up to the physical rigors of the pro ranks. “It’s just been those comments my whole life,” he said.
To care too deeply about Stankoven’s height, anyway, is to show yourself a fool – and for more than one reason. First, as it pertains to the business of the NHL’s collection of biometric data, sidle up alongside any big-leaguer and one quickly comes to realize the numbers listed in media guides and team reports aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on or the pixels they populate. Second, glancing at any player’s physical characteristics is a simpleton’s idea of talent evaluation. It tells you exactly nothing about Stankoven and only serves to fuel him further. Indeed, he’ll be the first to tell you that those jibes about his size are the exact reason he makes it his goal to ensure he plays like nothing short of a six-footer.
The stats help paint that picture. Last year, half of his goals and nearly half his shots came from the net-front area, and that has continued similarly this year. That’s evidence he doesn’t shy away from the tough areas. Even more impressive is his desire to throw his weight around. Among Stars forwards on a per-60-minutes basis, only five lineup regulars had more hits than Stankoven by mid-season. “I try not to get pushed around, and I’m not going to back down from that stuff,” he said. “Sometimes, it can help me in games if I get engaged physically. I feel like that can help me play my game.”
The hallmarks of that game are tenacity and playmaking precision, the former having made as much of an impression on his peers as the latter. Consider a video released by the Stars that opens with Stankoven’s teammates describing him in a single word. Mason Marchment dubs Stankoven “feisty,” while Matt Duchene goes with “pesky.” Wyatt Johnston chooses “intense.” Thomas Harley follows with “relentless,” and Jason Robertson conjures up “bulldog.” Jamie Benn gets the last word. The Stars captain sums up the 21-year-old as “determined.” And that determination has been evident throughout his rise.
As a rookie with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, Stankoven was a standout, chipping in 29 goals and 48 points in 59 games. Then came COVID to slam the door on his freshman WHL season. Then he was limited to just 13 games (seven of which were for Canada at the world U-18s) in his draft year due to the WHL locking down. As a result, scouts had few chances to view Stankoven. That left many uncertain, which was evident in pre-draft rankings. NHL Central Scouting ranked Stankoven 31st among North American skaters, and TSN’s Bob McKenzie pencilled him in at 27th overall. In The Hockey News’ Draft Preview edition, he was slotted 39th, with the caveat – of course – that he’d be a nailed-on first-rounder if he was a half-a-foot taller. Come draft day, he’d fallen further, right into the Stars’ laps at 47th overall.
Stankoven wasn’t satisfied with where he was selected, nor would he rest on his laurels. Sure, the world was only beginning to return to pre-pandemic business, but even if on-ice activity wasn’t back in full swing, Stankoven wasn’t going to let an entire year of potential development go to waste. “Either you could have just sat on your couch, done nothing and waited, or keep working on your game, find time in the gym, find time on the ice,” he said. “I wanted to be prepared as best as possible so that when things did open up back again, when leagues started up again, I wanted to make sure that when people watch me again they say, ‘Oh, wow. He’s put in the work. You can tell he’s ready to go.’”
What followed was a 2021-22 campaign in which he took MVP honors in the WHL and CHL, won World Junior Championship gold and made geniuses out of the Stars’ scouting staff. Then came a 2022-23 season in which he won another WJC gold and shredded the WHL with 34 goals and 97 points in 48 games. When he arrived in the Lone Star State, however, he was met with a setback. He was a standout in his first pre-season, picking up three points in five games and seeing the fourth-most ice time of any Star, but he was ultimately bounced back to the AHL. “They just wanted me to go down and get my feet wet and just keep working at my game,” he said. “That was definitely a positive thing for me.”
That bears out in the numbers. Not only did he take to life on the farm almost immediately, he was one of the AHL’s most high-octane players. By last February, when Stankoven was called up to the NHL, his 57 points were the most in the AHL. Despite never returning to the minor-league circuit, he finished the season tied for 19th in league scoring and tops among all rookies. And it wasn’t long into his NHL stay, either, before Stankoven was proving himself every bit the prince that his production had promised.
He registered his first NHL goal in his second big-league game. He scored again in his third and in his fourth. In his sixth outing, he had himself a two-goal, four-point night. By March, he was a permanent lineup fixture, and, come playoff time, Stankoven was seeing regular minutes and contributing. All of that experience played a hand in Stankoven entering the campaign in the Calder Trophy conversation – he maintained his rookie status by playing fewer than 26 regular-season games last season – and was evident as he burst out of the gate. Through mid-November, Stankoven was a point-per-game player and had matched last season’s point total.
It hasn’t been all roses since, though.
As the Stars hit the midpoint of their season, Stankoven was mired in a 24-game goal drought, and his point production had stalled. Once on pace for 80 points, he was in need of an uptick to even hit the 40-point plateau. That hasn’t dispirited the youngster, who had never experienced such an offensive dry spell. Instead, it gave him cause to sharpen his focus. “There are so many little pieces throughout the game that lead up to the right things,” he said, “and whether it’s getting an assist or scoring a goal, if you do the little things right, like being responsible in your own zone, being the best version of yourself on the ice, that will lead to success, hopefully. That’s the feedback I’ve been getting. But it is frustrating. There’s no getting around that.”
There will doubtless be those with an air of told-you-so about Stankoven’s slump. And should he fail to return to his early-season form and sputter to a modest output in his first full season, there will be those all too eager to again start debating whether he’s ready, even if only in whispers. But met with hurdles big and small – having been sent back to the AHL, drafted during a pandemic and spent a lifetime being told his size is an issue – Stankoven has shown time and again that when faced with adversity, he always stands tall. “To make it this far, it’s unbelievable,” he said. “It’s the best league in the world, and this is my dream job. You can’t take that for granted. It pushes me to become better each day, and even through the struggles, if things aren’t going well, I always find things to work on. All you can ask of yourself is to put forth your best foot and give it your all. The other things are out of your control.”
This article appeared in our 2025 Rookie Issue. Our cover story focuses on Dustin Wolf, the Calgary keeper who’s “jumped” in to help the team in its surprising playoff push. We also profile other sensational NHL freshmen: Macklin Celebrini, Matvei Michkov and Logan Stankoven. In addition, we look at some of the top rookies from the PWHL, the AHL and the CHL, and we preview the NHL trade deadline, with breakdowns for all 32 clubs.
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