Edmonton Oilers May Have Their New Starting Goaltender: Prospect Primed for NHL Call Up

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Liam McCormick
November 23, 2024 (7:02 PM)

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The Edmonton Oilers are in a full blown goaltending crisis with the struggles of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, so some fans want to see top goalie prospect Olivier Rodrigue called up.

Eric Friesen of Heavy Hockey Network recently pointed to the run of success Rodrigue has had this year, with stats that look quite different from Skinner and Pickard.

Olivier Rodrigue was drafted in the second round by the Oilers in 2018, and has spent the last 5 seasons developing into a very successful goaltender at the AHL level.

Rodrigue has an incredible .925 save percentage through 8 games this season, and has had a .916 and .912 in the two years prior.

Those numbers prove Rodrigue's success at the AHL level over a decent sample size, and he's still continuing to get better. But now at 24 years old, he's looking ready to make his NHL debut.

The Oilers are clearly hesitant to even reduce Stuart Skinner's number of starts, and they may be uncomfortable sending Cal Pickard to the AHL after signing him to a two year, $3M contract.

However, the results at the goaltending position haven't been good enough at all this season - they've arguably sunk the Oilers and cost them several wins.

Plenty of Oilers fans are ready to see a change in the crease, and want to see Rodrigue get the chance.

The Oilers need to look at all possible options to improve their goaltending, and they should begin with the internal option in Olivier Rodrigue.

At least call him up for a few starts, see how he performs, and go from there. The Oilers have a prime opportunity to give Rodrigue his NHL debut in January this season, but perhaps his call up comes earlier.

If the Oilers want to explore the trade market for a goaltender, they should consider San Jose Sharks goalie Mackenzie Blackwood as the best option - a younger goaltender performing well on a cheap deal.

Regardless of how it happens, the Oilers need an improvement in net desperately. It's simply not realistic to consider them a Stanley Cup contender with some of the NHL's worst goaltending results.