Aside from Benn being on the top line & the Stars still not having a long-term solution at RD, I can’t complain about this. I think you could see Bourque & Johnston swap 1C & 2C spots, but tbh you could probably see them bounce back and forth quite frequently.

Stankoven a little underrated at 3C, could easily challenge for 2C in the near future.

Personally, I don’t see Stankoven staying at Center at the NHL level. I think he becomes a DeBrincat-like player & shifts to the wing of either Bourque or Johnston. If I had to put money on what the top-6 looks like 2 years from now, I’d lean towards something like this:

Hintz-Johnston-Robertson
Stankoven-Bourque-Gurianov

Fair enough, my point still stands that he is a top 6 capable player. Stankoven was sorely underrated at the draft.

100%! I honestly was pissed when Dallas passed on him in the 1st, just to be able to grab him in the 2nd. Insane value in the 2nd round

That's how I felt about Gushchin in 2020. Wanted SJ to nab him with the Robins pick but still got Gush in the 3rd. I'm not as high on Bourque but Johnston and Stankoven I am jelly of.