Eight seasons later, Skinner, now 26, is headed to his second All-Star Weekend as a member of the Buffalo Sabres.
He has 29 goals (tied for second in the NHL), seven game winners (tied for first) and three overtime markers (tied for second) through 43 games. Those credentials earned him a spot on the first-ever "Last Men In" ballot for the Atlantic Division. Sabres fans carried him the rest of the way.
Skinner won the fan vote and was named to the All-Star roster Friday afternoon.
He admits his family probably paid more attention to the voting process than he did, but he's thankful for all the support he received. He beat out Toronto's Morgan Rielly, Tampa Bay's Brayden Point, Boston's Patrick Bergeron, Florida's Aleksander Barkov, Ottawa's Mark Stone, Montreal's Shea Weber and Detroit's Dylan Larkin.
Skinner is in his first season with the Sabres and has experienced firsthand yet another example of how rabid the fanbase can be.
"It just shows the passion and how much the fans love the Sabres," he said.
"…I think when you're a visiting team member, you get a little snapshot. Once you get into a city, you're sort of a part of the community. Walking around every day and seeing how much they love the sports there and the Sabres and how much they love the Bills.
"It's definitely something I sort of didn't grasp fully until I moved to Buffalo. It's pretty special to be a part of that. As a player, it's cool."