Scout’s Analysis: Projecting Logan Stankoven’s future in Carolina

There were plenty of interesting storylines in the build up to the NHL trade deadline and the day itself was full of excitement and surprise. Now that fans have had nearly a week to digest the moves their favourite team made — or didn’t make — I wanted to provide some further insight into two young players who were involved in trades.

First, we’ll take a look at the Carolina Hurricanes, who had to navigate their situation with Mikko Rantanen and brought in rookie forward Logan Stankoven to their NHL lineup. Then, we’ll look at the trajectory of Calum Ritchie, a top prospect who the New York Islanders acquired when they sent Brock Nelson to Colorado.

Logan Stankoven, Carolina Hurricanes

Stankoven has long been one of my favourite prospects. In a lot of ways he’s a unicorn in today’s NHL. He’s an undersized (5-foot-8, 165 pounds) forward who can play the wing and centre, but he isn’t a pure burner in open ice. However, Stankoven is quick to space in small areas and adept at finding quiet ice in high danger scoring areas in the offensive zone.

He’s sturdy, strong and willing to battle for position around the crease. He’s also very aggressive directing pucks on net. Defenders have a difficult time fronting Stankoven to block shots because pucks are on and off his stick in a hurry. 

Here’s proof of what I’m describing about Stankoven, courtesy NHL Edge data.

The first category gives us information about his speed and reflects his overall skating metrics. The results confirm the eye test with Stankoven. He’s quick out of the blocks, but not exceptionally fast. His overall speed is average-plus compared to the rest of the league.

Where Stankoven stands out is with his shot generation statistics. As I pointed out, he has an aggressive approach when it comes to directing pucks on net. He doesn’t have the hardest shot in the league, but he’s an accurate, high volume shooter overall.

When we look at his shot chart to see from where on the ice he directs his shots on net, it reflects how he works to get to high danger areas in the offensive zone. 

• His high danger shots on goal (43) lands in the 81^st percentile league-wide.

• His mid-range shots on goal (52) lands in the 89^th percentile.

• His overall shots on goal (152) is in the 89^th percentile.

Stankoven’s ice time in Carolina so far looks very similar to what it was in Dallas, with one exception.

With the Stars, Stankoven averaged around 15 minutes per game, was deployed on the third line and saw some power play opportunity. In the small sample size we’ve seen with the Hurricanes, Stankoven is skating in the top-six and averaging just over 16 minutes per game including five minutes per game of power play time.

He averaged around 15 minutes ice time in Dallas. He was deployed on the third line at even strength and on the power-play. 

Stankoven plays the game the right way. His primary element is what he provides offensively, but he is trustworthy defensively and tracks back the entire 200 feet to assist with keeping the puck out of his net. Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour knows what he has in Stankoven: a relentless competitor who creates offence and has a real chance of turning into a 70-plus point producer in the near future. 

Stankoven currently sits sixth in the NHL rookie scoring race with 10G-20A and while he won’t be the highest scoring first year player, he could still pass Cutter Gauthier (32 points) and Will Smith (33) ahead of him. His elevation into a full-time, top-six role could help him push.

This player has a winning pedigree and success has followed him at every step of his career. He’s a two-time world junior champion, was the CHL’s player of the year in 2022 and was the AHL’s most outstanding rookie last season (57 points in 47 games).

Stankoven looks poised to be a major contributor to the Hurricanes for years to come. He is only 22 years young, has one year left on his entry-level contract that counts only $814,000 against the salary cap and is eligible to sign an extension this off-season. It will be interesting to see how things unfold on that front. I believe it’s very possible the Canes will look to extend Stankoven for the maximum eight years this July. With the cap rising, I can see his next contract landing in the $7.5 million (AAV) range.

It was a tough look for the Hurricanes when Rantanen decided he wasn’t interested in signing a long-term extension. But GM Eric Tulsky can take solace in the fact he was able to trade for a young, top six NHL forward plus the extra draft capital (two first-round picks and two third-round selections) in the trade with the Stars. 

Calum Ritchie, New York Islanders

Pending unrestricted free agent Brock Nelson was one of the most sought-after forwards at the deadline and the New York Islanders were able to get a package for him that included Grade A forward prospect Calum Ritchie from Colorado.

Big, strong, right-shot centres are very valuable commodities for NHL teams. Coaches rely on having a mix of left- and right-shot forwards who can slide into the face-off circle to win draws on their strong side. 

Ritchie is listed at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and he made the Avs out of training camp last fall then suited up for seven NHL games. Coincidentally, he scored his first NHL goal against the Islanders on October 14 before eventually being sent back to the Oshawa Generals in the OHL. 

Ritchie logs a ton of ice time in Oshawa. In his most recent 10-game segment he averaged 21:36 of ice time per game and was deployed in all situations. He’s improved his three-zone detail and can be counted on to produce offence at key times as well as match-up and check opposing top six forwards. 

He’s quick to space, uses his long reach and large frame to intercept plays, and has an extra gear in transition. 

Here’s an example of Ritchie winning a defensive zone draw and bursting through the neutral zone to create offence when his team was shorthanded:

When Ritchie first arrived in the OHL he appeared to be a prospect who projected as a shooter/goal scorer more than a play driver or play maker. 

But after playing in that league for a few seasons, Ritchie is now best described as a player who leans distributor more than shooter. Having said that, he still knows how to put the puck in the back of the net. Ritchie is a massive threat to score coming off the weak side flank in the offensive zone. He has a great release and gets pucks away in a timely fashion. 

Here’s a clip that shows Ritchie scoring a 4-on-3 power play goal for Oshawa against the Sudbury Wolves:

The Islanders aren’t the richest organization when it comes to their overall prospect pool. However, they own the rights to Boston University sniper Cole Eiserman, and adding a player like Ritchie to the mix is a smart move. He has a chance to play centre in the NHL one day and the way he plays should complement Eiserman’s skill set. They could very well be linemates in the future.

I project Ritchie as a top-six NHL forward. With a solid summer of training he will have a legitimate chance to make the Islanders next fall. 

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