Logan Stankoven may soon parade down Victoria Street holding the Stanley Cup.
“It’s what you dream of as a kid — to hoist that Cup some day — and to have your name on that Cup,” said Stankoven, the 5-foot-8 Carolina Hurricanes’ forward from Kamloops. “It’s great to have that in the back of your mind, just as a motivator. But, at the same time, you’ve got to take it one game at a time and you can’t get too far ahead of yourself.”
Stankoven spoke to the Chronicle on May 31, two days before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, a best-of-seven series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
“They play heavy,” Stankoven said. “Even just watching that Colorado series, they played physical. They do a good job of blocking shots and their defencemen are pretty big. They like to box you out at the front of the net. We’re going to have to really battle and bear down.”
Young fans across Kamloops are drawing inspiration for what is possible while their hero bulldozes into a new stratosphere of hockey fame.
The flourishing dynamo registered nine goals and 12 points in 13 games in the first three rounds of the post-season and wired home the Eastern Conference Final series winner against the Montreal Canadiens.
“People are going out of their way to wish me luck or congratulate me and it doesn’t go unnoticed,” Stankoven said. “I definitely feel it. I’ve been able to see all the support and messages from people back home. I love it.”
Stankoven, 23, had more post-season experience (47 games) than 82 per cent of all players in NHL history as of May 31 and has reached the conference-final round in each of his three seasons in the league.
“I’ve been very, very blessed and grateful to be on three unbelievable teams so far that have made pretty good runs in the playoffs,” he said. “You can learn so much from being able to play in the big moments.”
Stankoven and his linemates Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake were Carolina’s top three scorers after three rounds, combining for a whopping 43 points.
The former Kamloops Blazers’ captain — third in NHL post-season goal scoring after the conference finals — has been pushing into Conn Smythe conversations while playing on an entry-level contract, with his eight-year, U.S. $48-million deal scheduled to kick in next season.
“It’s something I don’t take for granted and you never know when you’re going to make it back to this situation,” said Stankoven, the first Kamloopsian to play in the league championship series since Riley Nash in 2022.
Vegas posted a 12-4 record to reach the final, with series wins over the Utah Mammoth, Anaheim Ducks and Colorado Avalanche.
“Offensively, [Jack] Eichel and [Mitch] Marner are two of the best players in the world,” Stankoven said. “We’re going to have to stay above them and not let them have a lot of time and space because they’re difference-makers when they’re out there.”
The Hurricanes swept the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in Round 1 and Round 2, respectively, before dispatching the Habs in five games.
Carolina is the first team to reach the Cup Final in 13 games or fewer since 1986-1987, when the NHL adopted the best-of-seven format in each of the first four rounds of the playoffs.
Stankoven needs four more victories to become the first Stanley Cup champion from Kamloops since 2011, when Mark Recchi accomplished the feat with the Boston Bruins.
“You just want to leave it all out there,” Stankoven said. “You do it for the fans here and your teammates and the coaches and everyone watching and supporting me back home in Kamloops.”