Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner a popular pick to play for Team Canada
Could Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner represent Canada at next year’s Four Nations Face-Off tournament?
After the NHL announced the return to international “best-on-best” competition, one of the more interesting things revealed was the introduction of the Four Nations Face-Off. This tournament would be held next season in place of an All-Star Game and feature the very best players from Canada, the USA, Sweden, and Finland battling it out for international supremacy.
The hope is that this could be a prelude to a larger World Cup held every four years by the NHL.
With that in mind, the focus has quickly shifted to what Team Canada’s roster could look like, particularly between the pipes. Unlike other years where NHL players competed in best-on-best international play, Team Canada does not have a clear-cut goaltender to lead them.
In 2010, it was a tandem of Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur, while Carey Price handled the bulk of play for the 2014 Olympics and 2016 World Cup of Hockey. So, who could be the guy for the Canadians when the Four Nations Face-Off rolls around next year?
According to Sportsnet analysts Elliotte Friedman, Ron MacLean, Jennifer Botteril, and Kelly Hrudey, one of the players in contention could be Skinner. The quartet spent a portion of their All-Star coverage on Saturday showing off who they think will make the Canadian roster. All four had Skinner on the team.
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This is quite a different story than the one that was surrounding Skinner at the beginning of the season. The sophomore goalie was having a dreadful start to the year and had some of the worst analytics in the entire league. It was a stark drop-off from his rookie season, where he posted a .914 save percentage in 50 games and finished second in Calder Trophy voting.
However, it seems like Skinner rediscovered that game over the last couple of months. He is riding a 12-game winning streak and is tied for third in the league with 23 wins. If this calibre of play keeps up, there is no question that the Edmonton native deserves to be in the conversation for Team Canada’s goaltender.
His main competition for the spot is a division rival as Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill was also selected by each analyst. Much of that is riding off of Hill’s exceptional playoff performance, helping Vegas capture their first Stanley Cup.
The regular season has been less kind to the 27-year-old as injuries have sidelined him to just 17 games. That being said, he holds a fantastic 12-2-2 record with the Golden Knights and a sparkling .937 save percentage.
If Hill and Skinner do end up being the duo that represents Canada in between the pipes, it will be one of the more inexperienced tandems in the tournament. Team USA will have veteran Winnipeg Jets star Conor Hellebuyck and Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko at their disposal.
Team Finland also has some impressive options with Nashville Predators netminder Juuse Saros most likely getting starting duties. Over in Sweden, they will have to choose between guys like Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom and reigning Vezina winner Linus Ullmark.
With the tournament slated to take place in February 2025, fans won’t have to wait too much longer to get a better look at what Team Canada decides to ice.
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