World Juniors Preview: Canada vs. Sweden

In the summer time of 2013, Caedan Bankier and Logan Stankoven had been two
10-year-olds competing for a spot on the Brick Invitational. After beginning
out in numerous tryout teams, they each made the group and shortly discovered
themselves flying to Edmonton and Los Angeles to signify their province.

“I performed in opposition to him tons rising up in spring hockey, we had been like six,
seven, eight, however I by no means received to know [Bankier],” Stankoven says. “We had
group practices collectively and that’s after I first actually received to know Banks
fairly properly.”

“It was just an instant connection,” Bankier provides. “We spent quite a lot of time
collectively and simply had related pursuits.”

After the match, they saved in contact, reuniting in different spring
tournaments and with Team B.C. on the 2019 Canada Winter Games. They had been
each chosen by the Kamloops Blazers within the 2018 WHL Prospects Draft;
Stankoven was chosen fifth total by his hometown group and Bankier, a
Surrey, B.C., product, went forty ninth total.

“I was super excited,” Bankier says of being drafted with Stankoven. “[It]
made the entire course of a complete lot simpler for me getting into with any person you
know… [it] makes the expertise all that extra pleasurable too.”

Bankier and Stankoven had been two of three 16-year-olds that had been included on
the Blazers’ roster for the 2018-19 season. From there, the forwards labored
their approach as much as turning into the group’s main scorers, with Stankoven
recording 17 targets and 44 factors and Bankier notching 20 targets and 33
factors to this point this season.

GOING FOR GOLD ????????

Congrats to @LoganStankoven & @Caedan_Bankier on being named to Canada’a Final World Junior Roster! Go make #blazernation proud ???? pic.twitter.com/u9I0sCNiV9

— Kamloops Blazers (@blazerhockey) December 12, 2022

Not solely has their scoring made an impression on the Blazers, so has their
management. Stankoven was named an alternate captain with Kamloops for the
2020-21 season, turned a co-captain in 2021-22 and wears the ‘C’ this 12 months.
Bankier is energetic within the Blazers’ management group as properly, serving as an
alternate captain for the previous two seasons.

“We need it to be an pleasurable and superior expertise to play in Kamloops
and we simply try to make it really feel like that wherever we go,” Bankier says.

The friendship continued to develop off the ice too—from enjoying video video games
(the NHL sequence and Fortnite are video games of selection) to Bankier transferring into
Stankoven’s household dwelling for a month through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The phrase was early January, perhaps [they’d] begin again up the season once more,
so Banks needed to come back to Kamloops and practice with a couple of of us,” Stankoven
explains.

“It was laborious for me to search out coaching in Vancouver, so I requested him if I
may reside with him for a little bit bit earlier than the season began and he mentioned
sure,” Bankier provides. “We had an off day […] and we determined to go on an
out of doors rink simply to skate round. We had been fairly lucky we had been the
solely ones on the market and we nonetheless had the entire day left. So, Stanks determined
to e-book us a tee time on a golf course afterwards.”

“It was a crazy day,” Stankoven says. “It’s not too typically that you simply go
{golfing} and you then’ll go skate on an outside pond on the identical day within the
center of December.”

When Stankoven attended choice camp final 12 months forward of the 2022 IIHF
World Junior Championship, he had teammate Dylan Garand by his facet, who
had beforehand competed within the 2021 World Juniors. This 12 months, the roles
reversed: Stankoven is coming off a gold medal efficiency in August whereas
Bankier attended his first Team Canada camp.

“It’s good to have any person that you simply undergo this entire course of with.
It’s not simple,” Stankoven says. “It’s anxious being a man that was making an attempt
to combat for a spot on the group, and with me going by means of it final 12 months, I
was in a position to assist Banks this 12 months.”

“On the airplane journey, I feel I requested him one million questions on what his
expertise was like and simply what to anticipate for me,” Bankier provides. “Going
in final 12 months, he simply labored his approach onto the group and that was my aim
this 12 months: to work my approach on. I attempted to duplicate all the pieces he did final
12 months and that approach, we may expertise this occasion once more collectively.”

After a robust exhibiting at choice camp, the 2 pals waited to listen to if
they might be taking the ice collectively carrying the Maple Leaf.

“He’s had a real nice season with our team back in Kamloops,” Stankoven
says of Bankier. “He went on the market in two video games [against a team of U
SPORTS all-stars] and had a aim and a pair assists and appeared actually
good. [I was] simply happy with him as a buddy.”

“I couldn’t believe it,” Bankier says about making Canada’s National Junior Team. “First, I received a knock on the door, and it was the [housekeeping]
service… I had so many feelings operating by means of my head. Obviously, a bit
later I received a knock on the door and there was the assistant coach and the
digicam on the market.

“You watch these movies on social media from years previous with guys. For you
to be the one within the video, I can’t even describe it. It’s a lifelong
dream.”

From match teammates to Blazers leaders, the duo are able to embrace
the worldwide stage collectively as they compete in Halifax on the 2023 World Juniors.

“Very few get to expertise the World Juniors, however solely a handful get to do
it with their finest pals,” Bankier says. “I’m fairly fortunate and I’m actually
wanting ahead to it.”

“We’ve created some good memories over the years,” Stankoven says. “I feel
having a crack at this match collectively is one thing that I feel is
going to essentially repay in the long term with our group internet hosting the Memorial
Cup. Hopefully [we] win a gold medal right here and take this expertise again to
our group and have an excellent remainder of the season.”