Olivier Rodrigue will be the Oilers’ lone representative at the 2024 NHLPA Rookie Showcase that will take place at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex on September 4th.
The 24-year-old netminder will get to share the ice with the likes of Macklin Celebrini, Easton Cowan, Matvei Michkov, and Cutter Gauthier among many other high-profile young prospects participating in the festivities. It speaks to the progress made in his development that he was invited to the Rookie Showcase.
Rodrigue is coming off his best AHL season since turning pro, where he went 19-12-5 while posting a .916 SV% and a 2.73 GAA. He went on to appear in one playoff game where he had a strong showing with a .939 SV% and a 2.03 GAA but it wasn’t enough to save the Bakersfield Condors from elimination as they fell to the Ontario Reign in the first round.
Originally drafted 62nd overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, Rodrigue has gone on to appear in 90 AHL games across four seasons with a combined record of 43-36-8, a .908SV%, a 2.82 GAA, and a shutout. He also got to appear in one other playoff game back in 2021 amid the Condors’ run to the 2021 Calder Cup.
His strong 2023-24 campaign helped secure Rodrigue a one-year, two-way extension with the Oilers back in March. There were times last season when fans wondered if he could get into NHL games until Edmonton opted to ride their tandem of Stuart Skinner-Calvin Pickard the rest of the way. While he never got called up to the NHL at any point last year, Rodrigue enters this upcoming campaign as the third-stringer and could find himself getting between the pipes for the Blue and Orange at some point should they run into injury trouble.
Regardless of if and when he gets that long-awaited call-up, Rodrigue’s development has gone quite well to this point and his getting to participate in the 2024 Rookie Showcase is a testament to how far he has come in the six years since getting drafted. Oilers Nation can only hope this is the start of great things to come for the Chicoutimi native.
