Stuart Skinner looks to improve in second season with Oilers
After an up-and-down rookie season, Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner looks to improve on his play heading into his sophomore season.
The Edmonton Oilers have struggled with goaltending for some time now. With such a talented team filled with players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the sky is the limit for them. The only position group that has been holding them back, well, you guessed it, goaltending. Now with Skinner leading the charge for Edmonton, expectations are getting higher.
Although Skinner struggled last season, he showed promise of being a franchise goaltender. But Skinner is taking his job with a grain of salt. He looks to get better and better in each season.
“It honestly felt like I was going into something I was already ready for,” Skinner told NHL.com’s Aaron Vickers. “It felt pretty good just going in there right away, and the guys made me feel at home and made me feel like a big part of the family right away.
“I know for my rookie year it seems everything went pretty good and pretty smoothly, but I learned a lot of lessons. I’ve got much, much better to bring next year, and hopefully, I’m going to do that my whole career. I know it was a good year, but I know I’ve got a lot better.”
Despite his regular season success, the first-time All-Star struggled in Edmonton’s postseason run. Skinner posted a .883 save percentage and averaged 3.68 goals against.
“I think success in Season 2 is just sticking to who I am and just trying to get better every single day,” he said. “Obviously, I want to go in there and I want to win the Stanley Cup. That’s the ultimate goal for the Edmonton Oilers this year and, hopefully, for the next few years. I’m going to do my best to bring that role of stopping as many pucks as I can and just doing what I need to do as a teammate.”
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