The Stuart Skinner story is one that all fans love. A local Edmonton product, drafted in the third round of the 2017 draft, is now the bona fide starter for a team he grew up cheering for. Oilers fans love many things, but not much more than a homegrown talent.
Skinner came into the Oilers fold in the 2020-21 season, which was the Canadian Division year. Goaltending was usually a question mark in Edmonton, but at the time, Mike Smith was having a great year, wrapping up with a .923 save percentage. An injury sidelined Smith, leading to Skinner’s call-up. Mikko Koskinen carried the bulk of the load, starting the first ten games of the season until the Oilers rookie came in against the Ottawa Senators on January 31.
It was a wild game, especially in the first period, with Dominik Kahun opening up the scoring eight seconds into the game. Edmonton went into the first intermission with a 5-3 lead and ended up winning the game 8-5. Allowing five goals won’t reflect well on Skinner on the stat sheet, but he did face 38 shots in his NHL debut, which isn’t an easy task. It’s too bad the building was empty because fans would’ve got their money’s worth.
The tale of Skinner continued the next season when he made 13 appearances in the 2021-22 season. Fans were left disappointed after his final game of the year against the San Jose Sharks. Skinner stopped all 20 shots in a 3-0 victory over the Sharks on the road. Despite that, he was told to stay in California and go back to Bakersfield for the remainder of the season.
Oilers faithful finally got their wish in the 2022-23 season when Skinner became a full-time NHLer. He was supposed to back up Jack Campbell after the Oilers signed the former Toronto Maple Leaf to a big contract in free agency, but we all remember what happened there. Skinner soon became the starter and was named to the NHL All-Star Game as a rookie.
Skinner had a .914 save percentage, a 2.73 goals-against average, and a shutout in 50 games that season, helping guide the Oilers to the playoffs. Things didn’t go as well in the postseason, falling in the second round to the Vegas Golden Knights.
This past season, his workload increased by nine games in the regular season, and he was again put in a bad situation thanks to Campbell. Poor defensive games in front of him hurt his numbers, but as the year went on, things improved. In the playoffs, a blip against the Vancouver Canucks had him benched; however, Skinner came back stronger than ever. From Game 6 versus the Canucks onwards, Skinner had a 2.06 GAA and a .910 SV% and was one win away from winning the Stanley Cup.
The Oilers have a bad drafting reputation, but it isn’t all doom and gloom. Skinner is a prime example—a third-round pick who has arguably become the third most important player on the team. The organization couldn’t have asked for more from Skinner, as he has exceeded all expectations. Hopefully, the sound of STUUUUUUUU echoes around the halls of Rogers Place for many years to come.
