The Edmonton Oilers evened up the 2022-2023 edition of the Battle of Alberta at one game apiece Saturday night, after a 3-2 win. The Oilers were down 2-1 after two, but a fluke goal by McDavid (thank you Markstrom for continuing to be dogshit vs Edmonton) and backdoor tap-in by Zach Hyman gave Edmonton a 3-2 they would not relinquish. After a 6-game homestand that saw the Oilers go 3-3, the Edmonton Oilers head on a three game roadtrip and go 3-0 to push their record to 6-3 and place them firmly in 2nd in the division. And a big part of why the Oilers went 3-0 on this road trip, is because of the play of Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner.
Stuart Skinner, or Stu Skinny as I like to call him, was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Taken 78th overall in the 3rd round, Stu was drafted in the hopes that he would become the goalie of the future for Edmonton. After being drafted by the Oilers, Skinner was sent back to the WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes for the 2017-2018 season. He played 31 games with Lethbridge, posting an .897 sv%, before being traded to the Swift Current Broncos. In 25 games with Swift Current, Skinner posted a .914 sv% and led the Broncos to a berth in the CHL playoffs, even outdueling top goalie prospect Carter Hart in a playoff series.
After his time in the WHL, Skinner started the 2018-2019 season in the ECHL with the Wichita Thunder. His stats in that season were good, but by no means impressive. 15-14-7 with a 3.16 GAA and .903 sv%. And you know what? For a guy his age, playing in that league, those are reasonable numbers. At some point during the 18-19 season, Stuart was called up to the AHL to play for the Bakersfield Condors. In 6 games with Bakersfield, Skinner went 4-2-0 with a 2.99 GAA and a .879 sv%
In the 2019-2020 season, Skinner was on the Condors full time. Expected to spend the next year or two in the AHL before making the jump to the NHL, Oilers fans were keeping a close eye to see how Skinner did with Bakersfield. It didn't go well. Skinner played 41 games with Bakersfield, going 16-17-6 with a 3.31 GAA and a .892 sv%. Demoted back to the ECHL, Skinner played 3 games with Wichita, going 2-1-0 with a 3.62 GAA and a .892 sv%.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, everything was shut down, and Skinner was unable to play in the ECHL, AHL, or even NHL levels. However, something happened during that shutdown that caused Skinner to become good again.
In the 2020-2021 season, the Edmonton Oilers called upon Stuart Skinner for a game against the Ottawa Senators. Four years after being drafted, Stuart Skinner was set to make his NHL debut. And I'm gonna be honest here, the stats say he wasn't great, but my eye test says he was just fine, and got hung out to dry. Skinner would help the Oilers win that game 8-5 for his first career NHL victory. After that game, Skinner was sent back down to the AHL, and Skinner had a phenomenal season. In 31 games played that year, Skinner went 20-9-1 posting a 2.38 GAA and a .914 sv%.
2021-2022 saw Stuart Skinner's development went from "he might become something" to "this kid is the real deal". Due to injuries to Mike Smith, and inconsistent play from Mikko Koskinen, Stuart Skinner was once again thrown into action at the NHL level. This time, Skinner looked COMPLETELY different to the guy we saw vs Ottawa. He was calm, he was poised, he was making saves left, right, and center. Stu Skinny played 13 games in 21-22 at the NHL level, going 6-6-1, posting a 2.62 GAA and a .913 sv%.
After his stint with the Oilers, Skinner went back to Bakersfield for the last time. He would play 35 games with the Condors, going 22-7-5, posting a 2.21 GAA and a .920 sv%. With his numbers having improved in the last three years, Skinner was ready for full time back-up duties in Edmonton. With Mike Smith on LTIR for the year, and Mikko Koskinen going to Switzerland, the Edmonton Oilers signed Jack Campbell, and Skinner was automatically deemed the backup.
And so far, Skinner has been nothing short of spectacular. Through 4 games so far, Stuart Skinner is 2-1 with a 1.59 GAA and a .955 sv%. His first game of the season came in relief of Jack Campbell (who paid the price for Edmonton's sloppy start vs the Flames), he got his first start vs Bufflo (Edmonton lost that game 4-2 thanks to a sloppy second), stopped all but one shot in his 2nd start of the season vs St. Louis (the one goal he did allow, Ryan O'Reilly smacked a puck out of mid-air and off Skinner's back) and tonight against Calgary, Skinner stopped all but 2 shots enroute to a 3-2 Oilers W over Calgary. In fact, Stuart Skinner currently has the best sv% in the NHL this season thus far.
Looking at the stats, it's funny to see a guy who was just an "okay" goalie and then suddenly turn into a guy who's now considered to be a future stud for the Oilers. Whatever Skinner did after COVID-19 first shut everything down, it was certainly enough to get his development back on track. But whatever he did, it's paid dividends, and now Stuart Skinner is starting to turn heads in the league.
No comments:
Post a Comment