How Stuart Skinner can achieve his lofty goals for the 2025–26 season

To many a pessimist or armchair goaltending coach, at least one of those goals will seem out of reach. That would be his Team Canada bid. However, as is the case with several things in life, the case isn’t so black-and-white. There’s still a chance Skinner can crack the 2026 Olympic roster. The following is what has to be done to achieve that goal.

No sluggish starts to the regular season

Each of the past three seasons, the Oilers have started off the new season on the wrong foot. One of those seasons, the start was so abysmal it got Jay Woodcroft fired just 13 games into the season. Skinner actually helped save the 2022–23 campaign from going off the rails, but it’s reasonable to say he did not aid in fixing things right away in 2023–24 or 2024–25.

The Team Canada rosters get solidified pretty early in the season, so if Skinner has his sights set on the Olympics, he has to do his part in helping Edmonton get off to a solid jump. Team Canada didn’t add him on the 4 Nations roster largely due to the .872 he sported early on last year. If, say, he puts up a .915 or .920 to start 2025–26, he may well force the national team’s hand.

All he has to do is show them Good Stu through the beginning quarter of the season. Good Stu can steal games and provide defensive calm to a team. Bad Stu results in Team Canada finding three other starting NHL goalies for their crew.

Continue to outduel the star goaltenders

One of the wondrous things about Skinner is he, as an Edmonton kid, is like the city of Edmonton itself. If you put Edmonton as a city, up against Toronto as a city, the pundits are always favouring Toronto. Yet, in some categories and situations, Edmonton can pull ahead of the much larger compatriot to the East.

Two years in a row, the Oilers have faced the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. Both times, Stars netminder Jake Oettinger has been favoured to outduel #74 at the other end. Both times, Skinner has played some of his finest hockey in Round 3 and won the goalie battle.

Should Skinner be able to take on some of the better goalies in the league and win decisively, it will be a major boost for his reputation. In the Olympics, you’re gonna be facing the likes of Juuse Saros and Connor Hellebuyck. Outdueling the star ‘keepers early on will be imperative.

Some of the names the Oilers will likely face in October alone include Thatcher Demko, Dustin Wolf, Igor Shesterkin, and Ilya Sorokin. The chances will be there for Skinner to face off against the league’s elite. Make the most of them, and you might make the cut for Team Canada.

Other Team Canada candidates’ stocks will have to decline

The Canadian goalies to go to the 4 Nations tourney last year were Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, and Sam Montembault. All three earned those spots with solid play throughout the 2024–25 season. Binnington and Montembault helped their respective mid-tier franchises reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs following misses the two years prior. Hill led the Golden Knights to another Pacific Division crown. Logan Thompson didn’t make the cut for other reasons, but he helped the Washington Capitals win the Metropolitan Division.

At least two of those netminders will have to stumble, for Skinner to steal an Olympic spot. The good news is that both Thompson and Hill were subpar in Round 2 of the playoffs last year. Hill especially did not find form until Game 5 against Edmonton. By that point, Skinner himself was en route to winning that goalie duel via consecutive shutouts.

Skinner, of course, could be designated as an injury replacement for the Olympics. But to actually earn a spot outright is more difficult. If Thompson and Hill can’t regain their form from last season, or if Binnington or Montembault underwhelm, their standing may well decrease. And if Skinner’s own stock has increased, that would give him a path to Milan-Cortina.