McDonnell said the team had already targeted Johnston, a skilled forward who plays with Windsor of the OHL, so moving down to 23rd was a smart decision. He said that picking up players like Stankoven and Roulette felt good.
"Stankoven, the knock on him is his size, but anybody who is watching the games, there's room for small players as long as you have the high energy and compete level, and Logan definitely has that for sure," McDonnell said of the 5-foot-8, 170-pound center who plays with Kamloops of the WHL.
Stars owner Tom Gaglardi also is a part-owner of Kamloops, but Stankoven said he hadn't had that much interaction with Stars scouts. He said he had a Zoom call about a week ago, and that he was a little surprised when his name was called.
"It was a sigh of relief," he said. "I've just worked so hard, all the pucks I've shot in my garage, all the time I've spent in the gym and on the ice, just doing the extra, it's paid off. But just because I'm drafted, I know the work doesn't stop. It only gets harder from here. I'm just going to stay focused and working toward my goal."
Stankoven follows a trend for the Stars to target more skilled players. McDonnell said that while the style of the game is definitely trending toward more skill, and Dallas wants to load up as much as possible, the fact they're drafting smaller players with skill is simply because that's who's available.
"I think more players are skilled now," McDonnell said. "Ten years ago, a lot of teams were looking for the big rugged tough guys. Now, the kids all seem to have good skill, they can all skate, and they're just developing more so than ever."
Stankoven had 101 points (49 goals, 52 assists) in 38 games in AAA play in 2018-19 and was named the BC Hockey Under-18 Player of the Year. He said he's always trying to improve his skill.