It’s the feel-good story of the season — Edmonton kid who grew up idolizing Dwayne Roloson gets to tend the same Oilers net. Now it’s up to the 23-year-old to make good on the angle.
The Edmonton Oilers season might depend on it.
“It’s a big challenge in front of me and I’m really excited for that,” said backup goalie Stuart Skinner, part of Edmonton’s new goaltending tandem with Jack Campbell. “I can’t wait to get the ball rolling.
“I got a little taste of it last year. I’m pretty well going to do what I did last year — I have one job, to stop the puck, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
With more parity, a tighter schedule, more travel and more attention being paid to the wear and tear it puts on the most important position on the team, coaches are pulling back the reins on their starters in big way.
Gone are the days when goalies played close to 70 games a season and backups were insignificant seat-fillers who’d get a handful of crumbs a year against hand-picked patsies. Last season, only five NHL goalies had more than 59 starts, meaning 27 other teams had to trust their backups with almost one-third of their games. So, it’s no exaggeration to suggest that a backup goalie can make or break a season.
That’s a big responsibility in an important campaign for a 23-year-old local boy with a grand total of 14 NHL games to his credit, but Skinner believes he is up for the biggest challenge of his pro career.
Why? Because he’s been working toward this opportunity forever.
“I think just experience,” he said after the second day of Oilers training camp at Rogers Place. “It’s knowing that I’ve done the work. I’ve gotten a lot of games in the American League and the ECHL working my way up.
“I have a bit here in the NHL — I played some good teams, got a few wins under my belt. I’m just more comfortable in this league. Now, this is the year to keep it up, keep growing my game and keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
Skinner is 7-6-0 all time in the NHL with a .909 save percentage and 2.80 GAA. The numbers suggest he’s equipped to handle whatever games Campbell (who started 49 games for Toronto last year) doesn’t swallow up, but goaltender is a weird position and things can go sideways for no apparent reason.
Until Skinner steps in and performs consistently as a full-time backup, you don’t know for sure that he can.
“I don’t know if question mark would be the way I’d put it,” said Oilers goaltending coach Dustin Schwartz. “At the end of the day, he has to answer a few things maybe a little bit as far as the volume he’s able to carry.
“He’s proven over the 14 starts he’s had that he’s got the skills and ability to play here, but there are so many other factors that go into that — the mental grind of the season, the adversity that comes with it. Those are some of the things that time will give him an opportunity to grow into.”
When called on last season, Skinner had some stellar nights (a shutout against the San Jose Sharks and a 46-save win against Winnipeg) as well as some average ones. Fourteen career games isn’t much, but every bit of seasoning counts.
“That experience is invaluable,” said Schwartz. “Now he just has to go out there and do it. He’s going to get his chance to step in and take on a big part of the team.”
Goaltender is the hardest job to break into at the NHL level because there is nowhere to hide. Coaches can limit a young forward’s minutes, control his zone starts and match him against fourth-line opponents. Goalies get thrown into a 60-minute fire that they aren’t always ready for early in their career.
“I think a lot of it is mental,” said Schwartz. “You move up to the next level of your career, you put the pressure on, the pace of play goes up significantly, which changes the reads. That’s part of the reason that it does take some time, you have to be able to read the game at that level.
“He’s come a long way with that. Last year, when he got the opportunity with Mike Smith’s injury, he was ready to go and took advantage of that. That’s something I was really impressed with and a huge credit goes to him for the work he’s put in.”
If there is a weight on his shoulders, Skinner isn’t feeling it yet. In fact, he’s even more relaxed than he was last year.
“You feel more comfortable,” he said. “In previous years you come in and there are some nerves — there are still some nerves right now coming into camp, that’s just normal — but this year is different.
“I’m more confident and comfortable. I know the guys a lot more. It just feels like you’re in a better spot.”
rtychkowski@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/rob_tychkowski
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