Three Oilers' goalie-prospects competing for job at training camp

We saw in last year's playoffs the importance of having an experienced NHL goalie ready to jump in - when Calvin Pickard was injured in last year's playoffs, Stuart Skinner came in to get the team some wins.

Given that Oilers' GM Stan Bowman has to date made no offseason moves in the goalie position, it seems likely that Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard will start the season in some combination 1G and 2G, or 1A/1B.

In the event of injury, or poor performance by one, or both of Skinner and Pickard, the Oilers have three AHL-calibre goalies from whom to chose as an emergency call-up.

Samuel Jonsson is a big 21-year old at 6'5", as most current-era, NHL goalies are. He played in Sweden last season, with HockeyAllsvensk posting a 17-6 record in 24 games played, with a 1.88GAA and .922SV%, and 6 shutouts.

Jonsson's numbers are very good, but he lacks experience playing in North America. He will need to develop his game further, and will likely be in the AHL next year. He's in year 1 of a 3-year deal with the Oilers, at a $855K cap hit.

Nathaniel Day is 6'4" and 20-years old. He was selected by Edmonton in 2023 at 184th overall. He is in year 1 of a 3-year deal, with a cap hit of $857K.

In 2024-25 with Flint Firebirds of the OHL, Day posted a record of 26-25-5 in 59 games played. He will likely be competing for a starting job at the Condor's training camp, unless, of course, he makes the NHL cut.

Matt Tomkins was brought in as a free agent signing Jul 1, 2025, and is the only goalie of the three here mentioned that has NHL experience.

With the Tampa Bay Lightening in 2023-24, Tomkins played in six NHL games, with a record of 3-2-1, and a 3.33 GAA and .892 SV%. Although a small sample size, the wins are encouraging and show he can play at the top-level.

In 2024-25, with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL, Matt posted a 12-10-3 record in 26 games, with a 2.55 GAA and .907 SV%, again numbers that show he is competent at the pro-level.

Tomkins is 31-years old, and is in year 1 of a 2-year deal with Edmonton, at a cap hit of $775K.

Of course, all three of these goaltenders will be at the Oilers' training camp competing primarily for the 2nd-backup position. Given the importance of the position, and the lack of NHL experience, Stan Bowman would do well to acquire a goalie with at least one-year of proven NHL experience.