FEATURE: Stuart Skinner for Calder

EDMONTON, AB - Stuart Skinner deserves to be the NHL's rookie of the year.
The Calder Trophy is the one award that has eluded the Oilers franchise for years, but this could (and should) be the season that changes. Several Edmonton first-year players have come close, including Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid -- but as the Oilers begin their journey for some team hardware, Skinner's impact deserves to be recognized outside of Oil Country.
The rookie goaltender came into the season with softened expectations placed upon him. The talk all offseason from both Head Coach Jay Woodcroft and General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Ken Holland was that the 24-year-old was here to develop, playing 30 games or so to spell marquee free agent acquisition Jack Campbell.
Flash forward to the end of the regular season and it's undeniable that Monday's Game 1 crease against the Los Angeles Kings belongs to anyone but Skinner.
What a year it has been so far from the Edmonton, AB product. The Oilers goaltender has earned his mantle as the "guy" for the Blue & Orange after finishing his first full campaign with a 29-14-5 record, 2.75 goals-against average, and a .914 save percentage.

Most impressively, his 29 victories broke the Oilers franchise record for wins by a rookie goaltender, surpassing the 28 that future NHL Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr recorded back in 1981-82.
"Stuart's game speaks for itself. Obviously, anytime you can break a record held by Grant Fuhr, I mean, that's pretty special," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said about his goaltender. "He looks locked in. We've managed his games, we've managed his minutes, he's a young man in the prime of his career and he's a pretty mature guy that doesn't get too high or too low."
"It's huge. I'm super proud of him, and he's well deserving," Connor McDavid, who is no stranger to Oilers records, said. "I don't know a ton about goalies and their numbers and what they all mean, but what I do know is he's won his games, and we haven't always been the best team in front of him, but he's always given us a chance to win."

The Oilers third-round pick in 2017 grew up in Oil Country and is well aware of the legacy that Fuhr has in this city. Every game he plays in Rogers Place, the Oilers legend's number hangs in the rafters above him. Now Skinner gets to pencil his name atop the hall of famer's in the Oilers rookie record books.
"Yeah, it's really cool to have my name kind of beside his. I mean, he's a Hall of Fame goalie and one of the best to have ever lived and ever play the game," Skinner said. "I mean, growing up all you heard about is Grant Fuhr and how amazing he was as a teammate, as a goaltender, and just as a competitor in general. I'm extremely grateful that I'm able to do that. And yeah, it is pretty exciting."
The rookie record is the cherry on top on what has been a dream season for Skinner. The 24-year-old entered 2022-23 with 14-career NHL games under his belt, and leaves with an all-star appearance, a brand new three-year 7.8-million-dollar contract, and most importantly a newborn son named Beau.
"I mean, it's a good season, but at the same time it's just about getting into a playoff spot and once you do that, the regular season doesn't mean anything anymore," Skinner said. "It's all about game 83, and hopefully we can just continue the way we're playing and make a good run here. But yeah, I mean, good season. One of the greatest things for me is having my son born this year. I would say it's a special year for sure."

Skinner has helped lead the Oilers charge towards the post season, with a sublime 14-1-1 record since March 1. The local kid has become a steady presence between the pipes for the Oilers, becoming the franchise's first goalie named to the NHL All-Star Game since Tommy Salo in 2001-02.
He is a homegrown product in a market starving for a long-term solution between the pipes. The last Oilers drafted goalie to truly make an impact like Skinner at the pro-level was 2004 first-round pick Devan Dubnyk. Unfortunately for the Oilers, the zenith of his career came outside of Oil Country. Dubnyk racked up three all-star appearances and a third place Vezina Trophy nomination, all as a member of the Minnesota Wild.
Connor McDavid has already locked up the Art Ross and the Rocket Richard, and is the odds-on favourite for both the Hart and Ted Lindsay Trophies. In spite of all the accolades in his own historic season, the Oilers captain was fairly direct when asked what Skinner has meant for this Oilers team.
"He's been unbelievable. You know, he's really stepped up throughout the whole year," McDavid said. "I'm not sure where we'd be without him. I think it would be hard to find a rookie who's had a better year than Stu."
The last goaltender to win the Calder Trophy was Steve Mason with the Columbus Blue Jackets back in 2008-09. In that award-winning season, the 20-year-old led the Blue Jackets to their first ever playoff berth with a 33-20-7 record, 2.34 goals against average, and a .916 save percentage.
It's easy to see parallels between the two goaltenders when you dive into the numbers. Mason's 33 victories were tied for 10th in the league, whereas Skinner's 29 wins are also in 10th place. However, the Oilers tendy has started 10-less games than all the goaltenders in front of him besides likely Vezina Trophy favourite Linus Ullmark and New Jersey's Vitek Vanecek.
Among goalies who played at least 40 games, Mason was 11th in the league in save percentage with a .916 mark in his Calder season -- while Skinner's .914 is 10th this season among goaltenders who have started at least half their team's games.
Skinner's largest competition for the Calder Trophy comes from inside the Pacific Division. Seattle's Matty Beniers has had a solid rookie campaign for the expansion Kraken - recording 24 goals, 33 assists for 57 points in 80 games for the surprising playoff squad. Still, the 2021 second-overall pick is tied for 101st in league scoring, and his 0.71 points per game would be the lowest by a Calder winning forward since Jonathan Huberdeau back in 2012-13, and the third lowest by a non-defender or goalie in the 2000s.

While Beniers has been a solid contributor for the Kraken, finishing fourth on their team in scoring, it's difficult to argue against the impact that Skinner has had on this year's Oilers. As Connor McDavid alluded to, it's hard to imagine where the Oilers would be right now without the sensational rookie.
The Calder Trophy would be a nice addition to Skinner's dream season, but it wasn't his goal heading into the year; the rookie wanted to establish himself as an NHL quality goaltender.
"I wouldn't say I thought I had a chance (at winning the Calder), but I just kind of came into the season wanting to stop as many pucks as I could for the team and give this team a chance to win every night that I play," he said. "I'm going to just continue to do that moving forward here."
Skinner's current and real focus is a certain trophy handed out in late June or early July. He wants to follow in the footsteps of other first-year shot stoppers like Jordan Binnington, Matt Murray, and Cam Ward who helped lead their teams to the promised land in their first crack at Lord Stanley's Cup.
"That would be fantastic. I really hope that you're right," Skinner said about inexperienced goalies winning the cup. "Yeah, Cam Ward. I remember watching that series and as a fan. Obviously, I wanted it to go the other way. I know we have got the group of guys in here. We have the bodies in here that know what it takes to win games in the playoffs, so hopefully we do that more than any other team."