Young Edmonton Oilers goalie outperforming every top prospect in NHL
Photo credit: The Hockey News
According to the Edmonton Journal, Oilers goalie prospect Olivier Rodrigue appears to be ready to challenge for an NHL job and is outperforming all the competition in the AHL.
Last season with the Bakersfield Condors he had anointed himself as the number one goalie for the team as he went to battle against Calvin Pickard. After the departure of Jack Campbell from the organization, Pickard was promoted to the backup role with Stuart Skinner. This put him at the top of the prospect ticket and became the number one goalie with the Condors.
His gameplay has been solid, and Rodrigue certainly makes the case that he is ready for the next level. He has been in the top 10 for qualifying goalies in save percentage two years in a row and played 37 games last year, with a record of 19-12-5 a goal against of 2.73 and a save percentage of .916.
He signed a one-year two-way contract at the NHL league minimum which would see him being paid $125,000 if he goes back to the condors. The only caveat to this is that he now has waivers to contend with but it's quite likely that no team will select him as he has yet to prove that he can handle the big stage.
It's safe to say that if Pickard stumbles during training camp, head coach Kris Knoblauch along with the remaining coaching staff would be willing to give Rodrigue a chance to back up Stuart Skinner this season.
Source: Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Oilers prospect goalie has tracked better than hot shot Askarov, but what does it mean?
| POLL | ||
2 SEPTEMBRE | 270 ANSWERS Young Edmonton Oilers goalie outperforming every top prospect in NHL Should the Oilers bring up goaltending prospect Olivier Rodrigue full time this season? | ||
| Yes | 146 | 54.1 % |
| No | 124 | 45.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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