The on-ice portion of training camp opened Thursday morning for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Perhaps one of the biggest points of interest at the onset was that forward Logan Stankoven was lined up at center between Andrei Svechnikov and Jackson Blake.

Stankoven, 22, was acquired by the Hurricanes at the trade deadline last year in exchange for Mikko Rantanen and he instantly found a fit in Carolina, signing an eight-year extension as well.

Professionally, Stankoven has primarily played only on the wings, but before that, the Kamloops native had played center all of his life.

"I'm happy to be there," Stankoven told The Hockey News. "That's where I played my whole career and it just feels natural to me."

Stankoven said that Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour had approached him about playing center during their end-of-year meeting, so it was something he knew might happen at camp.

Now, it's confirmed that he'll be getting the chance to try and win back a spot in his natural position as the team's 2C.

"He's willing," said Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour on the reason to try Stankoven at center. "You have to be willing to understand that there's a lot of work that has to be put in to play center. A lot of little things that people don't really understand. And you have to be willing to take the bumps a little bit. But the fact that he's done it in the past helps. We know what kind of kid he is and he's willing to take on whatever we hand him." 

"I want to take full advantage of the opportunity," Stankoven said. "We have a good group of guys in here that I can learn from like [Jordan Staal] and [Sebastian Aho]. Now it's up to me to learn and follow in those guys' footsteps."

Despite being one of the smaller players in the NHL — Stankoven is officially listed as 5-foot-8 and 165lbs — he plays bigger than his physical stature and has shown that he can play in the league.

But the question remains, can he play center in this league?

"You don't see a lot of smaller centermen, but I'm gonna try and do my thing," Stankoven said. "If it works, great, if not, so be it. I'm gonna put my full effort into it and see where it gets me."

Carolina Hurricanes 2025 Training Camp Roster Revealed The Carolina Hurricanes have announced their training camp roster, one day before the opening of camp.

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