UNIONDALE — Logan Stankoven is an Islander.
Scouts around the CPHL all agree: New York won the draft with its gutsy, audacious selection at the 18th spot of the first round.
Stankoven, a 5'8" centre from the Western Hockey League, joins Victor Soderstrom, Alexander Khovanov, and Janis Moser in the Islanders' rapidly growing prospect pool.
After the draft, new Islanders advisor Pierre McGuire commented very favourably about Stankoven's game.
"Logan is a tremendous goal-scorer. Used to play for the Yale Hockey Academy. Born and raised in Kamloops, plays for their WHL team now. Real ties to that area. Big heart," said McGuire. "Plays like he's 6'3", which is the size all hockey players should ideally be. Of course, Sidney Crosby, the pride of Cole Harbour and all of Nova Scotia, is only 5'11" but he plays like he's 6'11". He'd be the tallest player in NHL history if he was that big. You know, Zdeno Chara, 6'9", biggest ever, and he plays that big, but Crosby plays so big. He plays like he's eight inches taller than Stankoven, but he's only three inches taller in real life, which is what really matters, although it also matters
how you play. And Sidney Crosby can play."
Onlookers named the Minnesota Wild, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Carolina Hurricanes as the teams with the worst showings at the 2021 draft.
But while opinions varied at the low end, everyone agreed about the Islanders' placement as the top team in all five rounds.
"Stankoven, Roulette, Savage, Wong, Katelevsky, just to name a few... the Islanders got so much value," said CPHL insider Rob MacKenzie. "Minnesota reached on Eklund, Lysell, Othmann, and especially Coronato... and I have no idea what the Pens were thinking with the Power pick."