Stuart Skinner

Stuart Daniel Skinner (born November 1, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the third round, 78th overall, in the 2017 NHL entry draft by the Edmonton Oilers, with whom he played parts of five seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2025.

Playing career Skinner was born and raised in Edmonton, and played minor ice hockey at the South Side Athletic Club (SSAC), including overlapping seasons on the SSAC Lions of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League (AMBHL) with future Edmonton Oilers teammates Tyler Benson (two SSAC seasons) and James Hamblin (one SSAC season).

Junior Skinner played major junior hockey in the Western Hockey League with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Swift Current Broncos.

On March 18, 2016, Skinner scored an empty net goal with the Lethbridge Hurricanes against the Medicine Hat Tigers, making him the only goaltender in franchise history and the seventh in WHL history to do so.

Professional Edmonton Oilers (2020–2025)

After his selection in the 2017 NHL entry draft, Skinner was later signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers on May 14, 2018.

Entering the final year of his entry-level contract, Skinner remained on the Oilers roster to start the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season. With an injury to veteran Mike Smith, Skinner served as the Oilers' backup to Mikko Koskinen through the first 9 games. He made his NHL debut and first career start on January 31, 2021, against the Ottawa Senators, collecting his first win in an 8–5 victory. Skinner would spend the remainder of the season with the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL). He would lead all goaltenders in wins with 20, and helped backstop Bakersfield to the Pacific Division Championship.

Skinner would split the 2021–22 season between the AHL and the NHL. On February 14, 2022, Skinner recorded his first NHL shutout against the San Jose Sharks, making 20 saves to win the game 3–0.

During the 2022–23 season, with the departure of Mikko Koskinen and injury to Mike Smith, Skinner was initially expected to be the backup to newly-signed goaltender Jack Campbell. Skinner's strong play, along with Campbell's struggling performance, led Skinner to take over the starter position. On January 19, 2023, the NHL announced Skinner as one of three final players of the Pacific Division voted in the 2023 NHL All-Star Game, along with teammate Leon Draisaitl. Skinner ultimately appeared in 50 games in the regular season, recording a 29–14–5 record with a .914 save percentage. He was voted a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy, the NHL's Rookie of the Year award.

The beginning of the Oilers' 2023–24 season got off to a less than ideal start. The team started the season poorly, going 3–9–1, their worst start since the 1993–94 season. With Skinner's early struggles and Campbell's poor play continuing from the previous season, Campbell was waived by the Oilers on November 7, 2023, for the purpose of assigning him to the American Hockey League. Campbell's demotion effectively made Skinner the defacto starting goaltender for the Oilers. After Campbell cleared waivers, the Oilers would then recall Calvin Pickard from Bakersfield, on November 8. Four days later, the Oilers fired then-head coach Jay Woodcroft and replaced him with Kris Knoblauch, on November 12. The team's fortunes soon experienced an eventual rejuvenation in their performance, leading to a significant rebound and ultimately achieving a record of 46 wins, 18 losses, and 5 overtime losses under the leadership of Knoblauch. This includes a franchise-high 16-game winning streak, setting a new Canadian and franchise record, which during this time, Skinner recorded his 11th consecutive win, beating the franchise record of 10, previously held by Grant Fuhr, on January 23, 2024.

Pittsburgh Penguins (2025–2026) Following a middling start to the Oilers' season by the team for the third year in a row, Skinner was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 12, 2025, along with defenceman Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick, in exchange for goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Samuel Poulin. At the time of the trade, Skinner had an 11–8–4 record through 23 games, two shutouts, a 2.83 GAA and a .891 save percentage. The Penguins lost 6–4, with Skinner making 17 saves.

Winnipeg Jets (2026–present) On July 1, 2026, Skinner signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets.

Personal life Skinner is the youngest of nine siblings, all of whom have first names that begin with the letter "S". He met his wife, Chloe, after a WHL game he played in Lethbridge; they married in June 2020.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP W L OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2011–12 SSAC Lions AMBHL 18 — — — — — — 2.59 .910 11 — — — — — 2.60 .900 2012–13 SSAC Lions AMBHL 21 — — — — — — 1.75 .929 11 — — — — — 1.45 .947 2013–14 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 4 0 3 0 197 17 0 5.17 .866 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 43 13 20 5 2,327 143 1 3.69 .909 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 44 27 10 1 2,238 102 3 2.73 .920 4 1 3 191 12 0 3.76 .862 2016–17 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 60 34 18 2 3,386 184 2 3.26 .905 20 10 10 1,243 64 0 3.09 .916 2017–18 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 31 14 15 0 1,737 98 4 3.38 .897 — — — — — — — — 2017–18 Swift Current Broncos WHL 25 16 6 1 1,433 64 2 2.68 .914 26 16 10 1,609 59 6 2.20 .932 2018–19 Wichita Thunder ECHL 41 15 14 7 2,260 119 4 3.16 .903 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 Bakersfield Condors AHL 6 4 2 0 362 18 0 2.99 .879 4 2 1 175 7 0 2.39 .918 2019–20 Bakersfield Condors AHL 41 16 17 6 2,267 125 1 3.31 .892 — — — — — — — — 2019–20 Wichita Thunder ECHL 3 2 1 0 182 11 0 3.62 .894 — — — — — — — — 2020–21 Edmonton Oilers NHL 1 1 0 0 60 5 0 5.03 .868 — — — — — — — — 2020–21 Bakersfield Condors AHL 31 20 9 1 1,787 125 2 2.38 .914 6 4 2 336 15 0 2.68 .907 2021–22 Bakersfield Condors AHL 35 22 7 5 2,088 77 5 2.21 .920 5 2 3 298 14 0 2.82 .911 2021–22 Edmonton Oilers NHL 13 6 6 0 735 32 1 2.62 .913 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 Edmonton Oilers NHL 50 29 14 5 2,904 133 1 2.75 .914 12 5 6 619 38 0 3.68 .883 2023–24 Edmonton Oilers NHL 59 36 16 5 3,362 147 2 2.62 .905 23 14 9 1,373 56 1 2.45 .901 2024–25 Edmonton Oilers NHL 51 26 18 4 2,942 138 3 2.81 .896 15 7 7 881 44 3 2.99 .889 2025–26 Edmonton Oilers NHL 23 11 8 4 1,317 62 2 2.83 .891 — — — — — — — — 2025–26 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 27 12 9 5 1,605 80 0 2.99 .885 3 0 3 175 9 0 3.08 .873NHL totals 224 121 71 23 12,923 597 9 2.77 .902 53 26 25 3,049 147 4 2.89 .892

International Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2014 Canada Black U17 7th 3 1 2 0 177 12 0 4.05 .831 2016 Canada U18 4th 3 2 0 0 127 6 0 2.82 .860Junior totals 6 3 2 0 304 18 0 3.55 .849

Awards and honours Award Year RefAMBHL Champion (SSAC Lions) 2012 Best GAA (1.75) 2013 Top Goaltender 2013 WHL Ed Chynoweth Cup champion 2018 NHL NHL All-Star Game 2023 NHL All-Rookie Team 2023