2016 NHL Draft Radar: Logan Stanley
By Sam Blazer
7 years agoPotential is a hell of a thing. You can get caught up in someone’s potential to the point that the hype surrounding the person usurps what they actually are. This seems to be the case for Logan Stanley, a player with everything at his finger tips. Will he grow into the player everyone sees him being? Or will he be just another player that has fallen under the pressure.
Stanley is the nineteenth ranked North American skater according to NHL CS rankings.
The Stats
Nothing here jumps off the page. If this player was 5’7, he wouldn’t even get a look. Stanley on the other hand is 6’7 and is a behemoth of a player. Everyone starts to get visions of Zdeno Chara stuck in their head whenever they see Stanley. Does he have the skills to become a similar player? Probably not. Chara had a work ethic like no one has ever seen before. He is like a four leaf clover, they don’t just sprout up everyday.
The Eye Test
“Logan Stanley is 6’7 and 220 pounds and he actually
moves reasonably well. He’s worked very hard to improve his skating, and his
stride is a lot more fluid and powerful. A lot of the time his reach and aggressiveness
help to negate some of the issues he has in his lateral and backwards agility. His lateral and backwards agility still need
work, and he needs to keep his feet moving off the rush.”
Bill Placzek of Draft Site was a little higher on Stanley:
“Giant defensemen with a great reach, and decent mobility for a youngster this size.Has an active stick and his length lets him close gaps, and Is exceedingly calm under pressure and despite the need to get stronger and bigger, he doesn’t wilt in his defensive zone. Clearly needs quicker stop/starts and better acceleration, but most assuredly an NHL team or two will consider selecting him and letting him develop further.”
Does he fit with the Red Wings?
If the Wings were to select him, it wouldn’t be considered that big of a reach. The time it would take for him to develop though, would mean you probably wouldn’t see him before Zetterberg hangs up his skates. He has some tools but lacks some key tools as well. He needs a bigger offensive game to succeed in the NHL and he needs to be quicker on his feet. I am not sure if he will be able to do either of those very well. He is a project and for a Wings team that doesn’t have the time for one, they should pass on him and find a player better suited to their developmental path.
Player Oddity
He has seemingly asked out multiple people to prom via Twitter.
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