The Oilers have three players going to the all-star game this season, and the third report card will be done on the third player. I’ve finished the reports on McDavid and Draisaitl, and now it’s time for Stuart Skinner‘s report. After stepping into a role nobody expected him to play coming into the new year, he has been able to take over the crease in Edmonton for a struggling Jack Campbell. The youngster has done quite well for himself and has been rewarded with an invite to the all-star weekend. Here are his grades:
Positioning: A
Awareness: A
Consistency: A-
Rebound Control: A
Overall Grade: A
It’s extremely hard to rank any goaltenders due to their potential inconsistency. But, it’s hard not to rank Skinner as high as I have, as he has been the team’s third most valuable player up until this point. Without him, the Oilers would be solid, but I doubt they’d be as comfortable as they are right now. With 27 games started this season, Skinner has been credited with 13 wins, 10 losses, and 3 overtime/shootout losses. Through those games, he has a .914 save percentage with a 2.92 goals-against average.
It’s hard to imagine life without Skinner for the Oilers. He has been one of the most solid goaltenders in the NHL, and his consistency puts him among the contenders for the Calder trophy this season, which is handed out to the league’s best rookie.
We will likely see Skinner’s play stay the same as the season moves along into the final stretch, but as Jack Campbell has finally started to find his game, Skinner may see the ice a bit less. This isn’t a bad thing at all. As a rookie, having him be burned out early is not what the team needs. Having a 1A/1b tandem in Campbell/Skinner that remains as consistent as they have been in recent games is going to make this team one of the toughest to play against come the first round of the playoffs.