Skinner, Pickard partnership in Oilers goal very much a friendship, too
There's a friendship in the Edmonton Oilers crease.
It was apparent last season after Calvin Pickard joined the National Hockey League team from its affiliate in Bakersfield, with Oilers players speaking highly of the journeyman both as a goalie and as a teammate.
It was apparent this week, too, when starting goalie Stuart Skinner jokingly recounted how Pickard "taught (him) a lot about resiliency on the golf course" before training camp started.
"Besides that, even just this past week going on the ice with him for a couple of goalie sessions, just the way that we've been able to talk and have some good conversations, with him and (coach Dustin) Schwartz, just about the way that we're starting out already has been amazing," Skinner told media on Wednesday during camp opening-day physicals.
"He's one of the best teammates you'll ever have, and he's been such a good support system for me. Honestly, he's a big brother to me. He takes care of me and the way that we talk, the way that he calls me out at times that are needed, it's exactly what you want out of a partner."
The goalie tandem was tested this past spring when Pickard unexpectedly saw playoff action. In May, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch sat a slumping Skinner in favour of Pickard to try to spark his team heading into Game 4 of their second-round series against the Vancouver Canucks down two games to one.
Pickard, who came into the previous match – an Oilers loss – in relief of Skinner, made 19 saves as the Oilers tied the series that game.
He started again and played well in a Game 5 loss, and was replaced by Skinner, who found his focus and played a big role in the Oilers' series victory over their Pacific Division rivals in a decidedly fierce seven games.
The team went on to make it to the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers, losing the championship in the last possible game after coming back from being down three games to none.
It didn't take long for Pickard, who had joined the organization in the summer of 2022, to sign up for more.
The Oilers secured the 32-year-old with a two-year contract extension in June worth $1 million per season, just four days after Game 7 of the Cup final.
"We played late, almost the end of June, and we kind of had to act quickly to get a new contract," Pickard said Friday after a training camp session. "That was exciting. I didn't want to be anywhere else. It's a great organization to be a part of."
The biggest part of that, of course, is his partnership with Skinner, in a tandem in which Pickard says it's important "to have a good relationship."
The 10-year pro veteran finished the 2023-24 regular season with a 12-7-1 record, a 2.45 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage over 20 starts, the most he'd logged since he started 48 for the Colorado Avalanche seven years earlier.
"Obviously, both guys need to be playing well," said Pickard.
"I need him to play well. He needs me to play well. We're a good support system for each other. When I'm not playing, I see things a different way when he's playing. That was good throughout the playoffs."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
3 injured after man with knife enters Montreal-area mosque
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Police arrest 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole Porsche and ran over its owner
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Woman nearly shut out of mother's estate sues brother in B.C. Supreme Court – and wins
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Teen arrested in New Brunswick after emergency alert; 5 people in custody
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Kamala Harris tells Oprah any intruder to her home is 'getting shot'
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
'We're still pushing hard': Search for missing Manitoba boy continues, RCMP find tracks
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
On the trail of the mystery woman whose company licensed exploding pagers
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
Woman shot by B.C. police was Colombian refugee with young daughter, advocate says
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
Video released of person of interest after cat is allegedly set on fire in Orillia, Ont.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.