AWARDS: Calder would cap season of growth for Skinner

NASHVILLE, TN - A dream season for Stuart Skinner is one he hopes will culminate with an elusive piece of hardware for the Oilers rookie.

It's been an incredible year for the 24-year-old goaltender, who entered the season as a young backup looking to find his feet at the NHL level and finished as the Oilers playoff starter after having broken Grant Fuhr's long standing franchise rookie record for wins with 29. Skinner is in Nashville with his family for Monday night's NHL Awards and reflected on the possibility of hearing his name announced as the Oilers first ever Calder Trophy winner.

"I was actually talking to my wife the other day about how we're going to Nashville, and we get to go to the NHL Award, and everything that came my way I'm just very honoured, very grateful that I was able to be in the situation that I'm in," Skinner said. "Looking back on the season, it's awesome everything that happened, but it's also very motivating because I want to be just so much better than I was last year. I want to be able to get to the same spots that I am right now. I want to be able to come to an event like this again, and at the end of the day, you want to lift the cup.

"So, there's a lot of lessons learned this season, a lot of lessons learned in the playoffs, and I'm excited to get to work in the summer here."

On the ice, it was a sensational season for the local product, but off the ice may have been even better. Skinner's play was rewarded with a new contract that locked the goaltender in Blue & Orange for the foreseeable future with a bump up in salary. His strong play drew the eyes of the league and saw the netminder named a Pacific Division All-Star alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Most importantly however, Skinner became a father as he and his wife welcomed their first child in their son Beau.

Skinner's success can be attributed to his mixture of size and athleticism, but he buttresses his natural gifts with a mature demeanour that goes far beyond his years. When the pressure of the season ratcheted up, the Oilers goaltender shone down the stretch with a 14-1-1 record propelling Edmonton in the playoffs as the team with the second-best record in the Western Conference.

"He was incredible for us, really from training camp on. He came in and he brought in an amount of work, and each and every day he wanted to push," Darnell Nurse said about his goaltender. "He wasn't sitting there and just being comfortable wanting to come in and be a backup goalie, he wanted to come in and take that job and he wanted to push each guy in our group to better. That's what he did all year long and that's why he's being recognized so much this year, because of what he did for our team, he was a huge reason why we got to the point that we were at."

McDavid, who is no stranger to NHL accolades and events, was at the All-Star game in South Florida with Skinner and is also in Nashville awaiting his own awards fate. The Oilers captain spoke to the growth he's seen from the Edmonton netminder coming into training camp with nothing assured to becoming the starter in the playoffs.

"Yeah, it's fun. It's fun to be back here with him at an NHL event," McDavid said. "It's funny. I think he's got a spot [on the roster] now, that's for sure. But for him now, it's about continuing to push to get better like we all are in Edmonton. It's been amazing to watch his evolution. There's only a handful of guys that Edmonton has really developed while I've been here, and he'd be one of them. It's been impressive to see."

McDavid was part of the contingent that let Skinner know that his hard work was being acknowledged by the league as one of three finalists for the Calder Trophy. The Oilers goaltender recounted being asked to come to the front of the team charter during their flight to Las Vegas for the second round of the playoffs - an unusual and nerve-wracking experience for Skinner.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. I remember I was going up to the front of the plane and Connor, Ken, Schwartzie and Woody were there, and I was like, what is going on right now? I've never been asked to go. Am I in trouble?" Skinner said. "Ken told me that I was nominated for Calder, and it was such a cool moment. Being able to share that with the people that helped me get there is a very special moment for me and then coming back to the back of the plane, getting all the congratulations, it was just such a cool moment and something that I'll remember."

"It's a proud moment for Stu and his family, but obviously all of his teammates are proud of him too," McDavid said about the moment. "So, to be there on the plane and give him the news and kind of see the reaction of everybody was cool to be a part of."

Later tonight, Skinner will find out if he's become the first of five Oilers nominees to win rookie of the year. Skinner dedicated himself to his craft and a trophy would be a fitting reward for the work, but the Oilers goaltender admits he would not be here if it wasn't for the support of his teammates all season.

"[I'm] just super honored just to be nominated, especially with the guys that I'm up against in Beniers and Powers. They had incredible seasons and super fun to watch and guys that are hard to play against the whole season and it was a lot of fun," Skinner said. "With being nominated for the Calder, especially as a goaltender, you need a lot of help from your teammates and a lot of help from the people that surround you every single day at Rogers Place. I've got a lot of that and there's never ending support from my teammates every single day.

"It's more of a team nomination."