World Juniors Bound: Logan Stankoven

As we count down to the start of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, we’re featuring each of the 11 WHL players set to represent Canada at the event.

We continue our series with Kamloops Blazers captain Logan Stankoven.

It’s set to be a memorable season for the reigning WHL and CHL Player of the Year.

After assisting on the gold medal-winning tally at the 2022 World Juniors in August, Logan Stankoven is back in search of more hardware this holiday season.

LOGAN STANKOVEN WITH THE FEED FOR G🥇LD!!! pic.twitter.com/JDziD1Kyzu

— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) August 21, 2022

The 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship is a pressure-packed situation, and exactly the type of scenario that Stankoven has leapt into with both feet in years past.

With Kamloops, Stankoven led the entire WHL Playoffs in scoring last spring after concluding the Regular Season with 104 points.

📽️ HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT 📽️@DallasStars prospect Logan Stankoven's motor never stops.@blazerhockey | #WHLHoN pic.twitter.com/946026xJQa

— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 26, 2022

This season, he holds an 11-point lead among Blazers scoring leaders despite appearing in only 21 of the team’s 29 games, while averaging north of six shots on goal per game for the B.C. Division leaders.

“You don’t want to force too many shots, but if I have a good chance to rip it, I’m going to try and rip it,” Stankoven recently told TSN.

But it’s not just Stankoven’s skill that catches the eye of those who watch him, it’s a sense of determination that has captivated fans in Kamloops for years.

Logan Stankoven so fun to watch

5-foot-8 and doesn’t back down from anything pic.twitter.com/I9KUQJUXn8

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) December 14, 2022

“I remember when we were eight years old, he was always the top guy from B.C.,” said Canadian teammate and Arizona Coyotes forward Dylan Guenther.

“He’s an offensive dynamo, he’s so fast and so good with the puck.”

Already a World Champion at the U18 and U20 levels, Stankoven is prepared to chase a third gold medal this winter in a season that offers so much promise.

Five months from now, Stankoven will lead his hometown Blazers to the 2023 Memorial Cup presented by Kia.

For fans in Canada’s Tournament Capital, this year marks a continuation of the heritage put in place by Kamloops squads of the 1990s.

For Stankoven, it’s an opportunity to celebrate hockey, and his hometown, on the national stage.

Team Canada opens the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship Monday versus Czechia.