As the NHL leans increasingly on pace and skill, skating ability has become increasingly valuable. Better skating enables better speed, acceleration, in-tight maneuverability, balance, and more.

But skating mechanics isn’t the end-all-be-all of skating. Case-in-point: Logan Stankoven.

Stankoven, Elite Prospects’ No. 26-ranked 2021 prospect, is a high-pace forward with tons of scoring prowess. As a WHL rookie, he scored 29 goals in 59 games. In just six WHL games this year, he scored seven times. He was a standout at the under-18 World Junior Championship.  

Admittedly, I was late to the Stankoven hype train. I focused too hard on the mechanics and not enough on the solutions he has to overcome them – a theme that exists across his game. Let's take a look at how Stankoven has minimized his flaws by playing a pro-style game.