It is often said that in hockey, a goalie has to be the best skater on their team. That isn’t in the sense of straightforward speed or crossovers, but more so in terms of edgework. The skating of a goaltender is far different from that of a player, but poor skating is detrimental to success for a goalie all the same.
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Though it often goes unnoticed, the best-skating goaltenders are rarely caught out of position. This is because they can get side to side so quickly thanks to their phenomenal edgework. The best in the game do it with such ease it appears effortless. A great example was former Montreal Canadiens netminder Carey Price, who always appeared to be so calm and composed in the crease. This was all thanks to his elite skating ability.
Like every player, every goaltender in the NHL is a very good skater. After all, there’s a reason they are playing in the best league in the world. That said, some are noticeably better than others, and more often than not, the ones who do skate better are more successful than those who are lacking. That doesn’t bode well for the Edmonton Oilers, as both Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard have serious deficiencies in this aspect of their respective games.
Skinner Struggles Moving Laterally
As far as structural technique goes, Skinner is quite solid. He doesn’t scramble a ton and plays a compact style like many of the top goaltenders in the world today. That said, he does have one issue that many are starting to pick up on as of late, and it’s a major one.
Thanks in large part to his large frame and sound positioning, Skinner doesn’t get beat by clean looks very often. If it is just him versus a shooter, he often comes out on top. That said, if there happens to be passing involved, his deficiencies really come to light.
Skinner is quite poor by NHL standards in terms of his lateral movement, which edgework has a big factor in. This was fully on display in last night’s game versus the New York Islanders where he allowed a one-timer goal off the stick of Kyle Palmieri on a two-on-one rush part way through the second period.
As the clip shows, Skinner is fully set in anticipation of a shot from Maxim Tsyplakov. When Tsyplakov instead chose to pass over to Palmieri, Skinner’s lack of lateral movement put him in an ugly position. If you pause the clip, you’ll actually notice his hips have almost no rotation, still facing Tsyplakov well after the puck is already making its way to Palmieri.
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This is just one example of many that have been on display this season and years past with Skinner. His positional play is good enough that it allows him to still be a fine NHL goaltender, but until he is able to better improve his side-to-side play, he will never get close to being a top-tier starter.
Pickard’s Technique Can Be Costly
On the other side of the chain you have Pickard, who, while not being horrendous positionally, isn’t nearly as solid as Skinner. The journeyman netminder can often be overreactive in his crease, which leads to unnecessary scrambling and tends to make things much more difficult than they need to be.
A big part of Pickard’s scrambling is that he, too, isn’t a very good skater. His lateral movement is also quite poor compared to many other NHL goaltenders. Pair that with his sometimes-questionable positioning and you get what at times what can look like, quite frankly, a beer league goaltender. Now, to Pickard’s credit, he’s faired quite well through his 29 appearances with a 2.48 goals against average (GAA) and a .905 save percentage (SV%), but, if he were ever needed to be relied upon in a heavier workload, his deficiencies may really become evident.
Oilers Could Use Goaltending Help
Though the main priority for this Oilers team is acquiring a defenceman, you can understand why many fans are begging for a goaltender. This current combo of Skinner and Pickard is simply too inconsistent and unpredictable to count on, making them a risky bet as they look to win it all in 2025.
