SUNDAY FEATURE: Oilers' Patience With Skinner Paying Dividends For Bakersfield

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Some things just can’t be rushed.

Whiskey.

Great red wines.

Worcestershire sauce.

And goaltenders.

Like the above, goaltenders take time to reach their potential.

There have been many forwards that go right from junior to the National Hockey League. Even a few exceptional defensemen manage to make the leap with no stint in the minors.

But for goalies, proper grooming is the key.

“We have to be patient with goalies,” said Bakersfield Condors goaltending coach Sylvain Rodrigue. “If there’s a tough position to transition from junior level to pro level it’s goalie. It’s a tough one so that’s why we have to be patient with them.”

One of Rodrigue’s current prospects is Bakersfield Condors goalie Stuart Skinner.

A third-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2017, Skinner spent the bulk of his rookie pro season at the ECHL level with the Wichita Thunder, was the No. 1 for the Condors last season, thanks in part due to an early injury to Shane Starrett, and is back leading the Condors after a stint with the Oilers.

The Condors are riding a four-game winning streak and Skinner has played a large role. He has stopped 96 of 100 shots and allowed just four goals for a 1.00 goals-against average.

He had back-to-back shutouts before allowing a third-period goal against Ontario on Saturday and went 195:22 without allowing a goal over three-plus games to set a Condors record, shattering the old mark of 1:52:02 by Laurent Brossoit in 2015-16.

“Our team is working so hard to do everything they can to block shots and move the puck up,” Skinner said after a 6-0 win over San Jose on Wednesday night, deflecting praise away from him. “It took us a while to start getting some goals at the beginning of the season and it’s paying off now. I think just our patience and hard work is starting to pay off. I love the guys in front of me. They work so hard.”

Skinner, a native of Edmonton, started this season on the taxi squad for the Oilers and made his National Hockey League debut in an 8-5 win over Ottawa on Jan. 31.

Skinner and his coaches agree all that extra time at the top level, much of it spent with Oilers goaltending coach Dustin Schwartz, helped his progression.

“Me and Schwartzy worked a ton and spent a ton of time together up in Edmonton before the season started,” Skinner said. “I got a lot of work in and put in my time. Being able to be around those guys and being able to see how they prepare and how they work every single day really helped me to be at that pace all the time.”

Condors coach Jay Woodcroft said the extended time in Edmonton was an excellent experience.

“It was an eye opener for him in that he got to see how the best in the world practice on a daily basis, how they approach games, how they treat their bodies, all that type of stuff,” he said. “ He came down, had to sit in a hotel room for a little while (quarantine) but I think he’s found his footing.”

Without a doubt, Skinner is playing his best hockey as a pro.

He posted a 3.16 goals-against average and .903 save percentage in 41 games with Wichita and had a couple of cups of coffee with the Condors - six regular-season games and four in the playoffs.

“His first year he was up and down between Bakersfield and Wichita but I felt good enough putting him in in that second round playoff series three times,” Condors coach Jay Woodcroft said. “That's what I think of  Stuart Skinner’s ability and his way of giving our team a chance to win on a nightly basis.”

The Condors struggled as a whole last season as did Skinner. Skinner went 16-17-6 with a 3.13 GAA and .892  save percentage on a last-place club that was not good in its own zone.

Still, there were flashes of brilliance. Such as a week in late January when he went 3-1 with a 1.50 GAA and .946 save percentage to earn AHL Player of the Week honors.

The key, Rodrigue, said is not to just be good but to be consistently good.

“Last year he showed us he could play,” Rodrigue said. “He could play physically, he could play every night but the consistency was not always there.

“This is where we try to tidy it up, tweaking things here and there to, at the end, build a goalie that can play every night and the team and management and coaches know what they get night after night. That’s why we have to be patient.”

For his part, Skinner said he just has to be the same player he was up in Edmonton.

“I think for me it's just keeping that same pace up and that same mentality here in Bakersfield so one day I can make my way up.”

And if that day comes, Rodrigue wants his goaltender to be ready.

“When the door is open in the NHL just make sure you’re ready to perform because sometimes you don’t have a second or third opportunity,” Rodrigue said. “That’s how it is. It’s very cruel but that’s the business.”

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