Stuart Skinner fulfilled the dream of many young hockey players, playing for the hometown team he grew up watching.
“If you had told me this five or six years ago, I would have probably said you were crazy,” the 25-year-old goalie said after the game. Edmonton Oilers The Celtics beat the Dallas Stars on Sunday night to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final in 18 years.
“Honestly, moments like this… are hard to put into words,” he said, struggling to find the words to express the joy of the moment.
“It’s really cool — more than cool.”
Skinner was selected by the Oilers in the third round (78th overall) of the 2017 NHL draft. Before entering the major leagues, he played four seasons for Lethbridge and Swift Current in the Western Hockey League.
Prior to that, he attended the hockey academy at Louis-St. Laurent Catholic High School and spent his junior year at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Hockey Academy.
The Oilers goalie saved 34 of 35 shots to help his team to a 2-1 home win on Sunday night.
For those who coached Skinner and watched him grow, Sunday night’s big win was a source of immense pride — but at the same time, it came as no surprise.
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“When I first met him, he was 13 years old and as big as he was,” said Jamie McCaig, head goalie coach at Louis St. Laurent, who has been with the hockey academy since its inception more than a decade ago.
He said Skinner played at the school from Grade 10 until he left at 16 to become a goalie for the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League.
“You definitely knew there was something special about him. Great kid, great character, hard working. Loves being a goalkeeper but not everyone can do that.
“Obviously now he’s getting rewarded.”
Louis St. Laurent junior/senior hockey director Jarrett Peel said Skinner is a dedicated student, both on and off the ice, and hungry to succeed.
“Stuart Skinner was a product of hard work, ethics and good sportsmanship,” Peel said. “You know how some people have God-given abilities and don't work hard? But he worked hard and it paid off.”
Skinner was seven years old the last time the Oilers reached the playoff final. Like many hockey players, he had role models.
“I was definitely watching Raleigh’s games, goalie Raleigh was my idol,” Skinner said of goalie Dwayne Roloson, who also helped the Edmonton Oilers to their last Stanley Cup appearance in 2006, a run that ended in a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Today, Skinner has become an idol for a new generation of young hockey players in his hometown and alma mater.
“It’s cool to know there are people who played with me or went to the same school as me and got to where they are now in their careers,” seventh-grader Grayson Connors said. “If you give your best effort, you’ll go the farthest.”
Parker Snizwell, a student and goalie at St. Thomas More Hockey Academy, said Skinner is also a role model for him.
“Of course, I want to have a beard like that and be as good as him,” the ninth grader joked.
“It’s great that he’s playing for his hometown team.”
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