Every fans of the Edmonton Oilers knows there’s trouble in the nets with the Edmonton Oilers, with Stuart Skinner and especially back-up Calvin Pickard.
But the insecurity in Edmonton is having a negative impact with goalie development in the Oilers farm system.
Due to the uncertainty around whether or not Skinner and Pickard could get the job done this year, the Oilers acquired veteran NHL goalie Connor Ingram from Utah on October 1.
Heading into the season, the plan in Edmonton was evidently to have Skinner and Pickard in Edmonton, with veteran 31-year-old veteran AHL goalie Matt Tomkins signed to play in Bakersfield, presumably play about half the games and to work as a mentor to one of the younger goalies in the system, either Connor Ungar, 23, or newly signed Samuel Jonsson, 21 from Sweden or Nathaniel Day, 20, from the Ontario Hockey League.
But Ingram’s signing meant the Oilers going with two veteran goalies in Bakersfield, Ingram and Tompkins, with Ungar, Jonsson and Day all bumped down to the ECHL, where Edmonton has a player development agreement with Fort Wayne.
How has this all played out?
goalies
Impacts in minor pro system
The plan for Bakersfield this year was presumably to team up the veteran Tomkins with the best of the three young goalies, Jonsson, Day or Ungar. This would be an ideal situation for the young AHL goalie with Tomkins as his mentor, while at the same time that younger goalie would face AHL level competition, which is significantly greater than in the lower level ECHL.
But with the signing of Ingram, this apparent plan was out the window. Now there are two vets in the AHL, with the three younger goalies in the ECHL. They’re all three getting adequate playing time in the ECHL, but not one of them is getting mentoring from Tomkins, nor are any of the three facing AHL-quality shots.
Just how much lower is the level of competition in the ECHL?
Fort Wayne has three players who played in Bakersfield last year but are in the ECHL this year.
Centre Jayden Grubbe, 22, had two goals and 14 points in 62 AHL games last year. This year in Fort Wayne he’s got four goals and 13 points in 18 games.
Brady Stonehouse, 21, had no goals or points in seven games in Bakersfield last year. In Fort Wayne, he’s got three goals and eight points in 18 games.
And James Stefan, 22, three goals and no assists in 45 Bakersfield games last eyar. This year he’s got ten goals and 17 points in 18 ECHL games.
Some of the improvement year to year has to do with more pro experience and more ice time, but much of it has to do with the drop in quality of play.
Ungar and Jonsson are putting up excellent numbers of the ECHL, likely indicating they would be better off at a higher level of play. But the logjam in Edmonton’s goalie development system is preventing their promotion.
This isn’t ideal, but it’s not a disaster either, as all the minor league goalies are getting games. But if Edmonton wants to accelerate the development of one of Ungar or Jonsson, the AHL is where they evidently belong just now.
At the Cult of Hockey
STAPLES: ‘In a heartbeat’: Toronto insiders keen on Maple Leafs trading for Darnell Nurse
STAPLES: How can you bench or send down Connor Clattenburg? You can’t
LEAVINS: Will the real Edmonton Oilers please stand up: 9 Things