CAMP: Skinner feeling confident and ready for a larger role

EDMONTON, AB - At every roadblock so far in goaltender Stuart Skinner's career, he's found a way to get over the hump.
You can call it adversity, but to the Edmonton, AB product, it's just a part of becoming a better hockey player and an even better human being.
Five years after joining the Oilers organization as a 78th-overall pick at the 2017 NHL Draft, Skinner enters the 2022-23 NHL campaign feeling as confident as he ever has knowing that he's firmly in the goaltending picture this season for Edmonton alongside off-season signing Jack Campbell.
"You just feel more comfortable," he said. "I know in the previous years you kind of come in and there are some nerves. This year's a little different just because I'm more confident, I'm more comfortable, and I think I know the guys a lot more. It just feels like I'm in a better spot.
"It feels great mentally. I feel like it's a big challenge in front of me and I'm really excited for that challenge. I just can't wait to get the ball rolling here."
In a league like the NHL, however, Skinner knows that nothing is for granted. The hard work over the past half-decade working his way up through the professional ranks is what's got him to the NHL. Hopefully, it's going to be what makes him stay.
"I would like to say that I know, but I don't think nobody really knows what anything is going to be in the future," he said. "That said, I'm going to do everything I can to see what I'm capable of in this league to see how far I can go. I'm going to work as hard as I possibly can just to be the best goalie and also the best teammate and person that I can be throughout these years."

The 23-year-old has made massive strides in his on-ice development, but he attests that the biggest change in himself in the past five years has been how much he's grown as a person off it. He's been engaged and married over that time while slowly evolving himself as an individual and a teammate alongside his ability between the pipes as a netminder.
"I've seen this young man mature," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft, who's been Skinner's coach in both Bakersfield and Edmonton over the last five years, said during Training Camp. "I've seen this man get engaged, I've seen him get married. He's hit some different life stages along the way here. I see somebody who's confident and somebody who feels confident because he's earned the right to feel confident. He's put a lot of work in and it's a credit to him."
Skinner's first full professional season in 2018-19 didn't match the heights of his final year in junior when he backstopped the Swift Current Broncos to a WHL title and signed his entry-level contract with the Oilers the day after lifting the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

His first year in pro hockey brought plenty of challenges, including being sent down to the ECHL to fine-tune his craft for 41 games with the Wichita Thunder after not being able to find a consistent place at the AHL level with the Bakersfield Condors. As playoffs loomed large near the end of the 2018-19 AHL regular season, Skinner was called back up to Bakersfield, but only started one of the Condors' final 14 games.
Despite that lack of playing time, Skinner continued to work. He'd make two-straight relief appearances during the Condors' second-round series with the San Diego Gulls before finding out on the bus from Woodcroft after their Game 4 defeat that he'd be making the start in a do-or-die Game 5 back in Bakersfield.
The pressure was massive, but Skinner could only think at the time about how grateful he was to be given the opportunity.
"When I found out, I [had] a big smile on my face and was looking outside thinking about how grateful I am," Skinner said of the moment back in 2019. "Thinking about being in this situation, it's a blessing to be where I am and being able to do it with the group of guys in there. We're a tight squad and I think I just want to play the hardest for the guys -- just like how they want to play their hardest for the guys beside them."
Skinner would make the most of his moment with 45 saves on 46 shots to help stave off elimination for the Condors before they were eliminated in Game 6 by the Gulls. The next season, his 41 starts would mark the second-most ever by a Condors goaltender in their AHL history.

"I was fortunate to coach Stuart in his first season as a professional, and that wasn't an easy year for him," Coach Woodcroft said. "He spent some time in the ECHL, and when he did come to Bakersfield he wasn't asked to play a prominent role. Yet, I still felt comfortable playing him in the second round of a seven-game playoff series in the American Hockey League. I felt comfortable doing that, and then as he worked his way through the next few years, he established himself as a legit starting goaltender in the American Hockey League.
The COVID-19-challenged season of 2020-21 saw Skinner take the biggest leap, with his 20 wins leading all AHL goaltenders and helping guide the Condors to a Pacific Division title. He even broke into the NHL with his first-career victory against the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 31 that season.
With a further 12 NHL starts and sustained starter success in Bakersfield last season, Skinner has earned his opportunity this season at an extended stay in Edmonton.
"I think just experience," Skinner said. "I've got a lot of experience in the AHL. I've got a bit of experience up here in the NHL, played some good teams and got a few wins under my belt. Just more comfortable in this league. I've got a lot of games in the AHL and ECHL working my way up and it's been a grind.
"It's taken a lot of hard work, so just knowing that I've done the work for the last five years and that this is the year to just keep it up, keep growing my game and keep doing what I'm doing."