Stuart puts himself on the hook

Stuart Skinner is quick to admit that he wasn’t always wired this way.

As the Winnipeg Jets new starting goalie prepares for his fifth NHL season, Skinner conceded that the accountability aspect that is now synonymous with his character took some time to build up.

“As I grew up and got older, you go through certain things in life that either build character or make things worse for you. It depends on your choice and your decision,” Skinner said during a recent conversation with the Free Press. “I learned it through trial and error. I learned that, sometimes, it’s hard to get honest with yourself… For me, it’s definitely been a road for me to get to a place like this.

“It definitely is one of my pillars. Accountability is so important because that brings you into a spot of what you’re going to do next. It’s easy to let yourself off the hook. I’m more in the business of putting myself on the hook.”

The willingness to assess things honestly is one of the reasons that Skinner appealed to the Jets before they signed him to a two-year deal on July 1.

Skinner, 27, has been through a lot in a short period of time and his ability to come out of that adversity stronger made him a natural heir apparent to Connor Hellebuyck.

“I’ve been in positions where you’re not playing every game, and positions where you are playing every game,” said Skinner. “For me, personally, I’m just trying to go out there and be myself, trying to be the best team guy I could possibly be, give my team a chance to win. I mean, that’s the biggest thing. That’s the goalie’s job: to give the team a chance to win.”

The netminder is no stranger to carrying a heavy workload as he’s made at least 48 starts and 50 appearances in each of his four full seasons — the high coming in 2023-24 when he had 57 starts and 59 appearances before appearing in an additional 23 playoff games.

Regardless of how things shake out with Hellebuyck (who is expected to be traded), Skinner is ready for whatever comes his way.

“For me, I definitely love a high load. I think I can definitely take on a high load if that’s what’s needed,” said Skinner. “I love playing as many games as I can possibly play. I mean, every year, it’s different, it’s situational — wins, losses, who you’re playing, all that fun stuff.

“It’ll be really interesting to see how many games I get to play. But, tell you right now, every time I’m in the net, I’ll definitely be putting my heart on the line.”

Skinner has been in the playoffs in each of his four previous seasons, including a pair of runs to the Stanley Cup final with the Edmonton Oilers.

Each of those experiences were valuable for Skinner, but seeing the way the Penguins reacted to qualifying for the post-season when many observers thought they would be tanking was an eye-opener — especially when you consider many of the core pieces had captured multiple Stanley Cups.

“Yeah, it was definitely different because they haven’t made the playoffs in a couple years,” said Skinner. “I’ve had the privilege to be in the playoffs every year so far. It was just cool to kind of see the difference and a team being that excited for the playoffs. I was just thrilled to be a part of that and such a good group of guys.”

Skinner raved about the leadership of Connor McDavid when he signed on July 1 and, in this recent interview, he provided a glowing review of what it was like to be around Penguins captain Sidney Crosby for an extended period of time.

“It was incredible. I mean, first and foremost, just the type of character he has, the type of man that he is,” said Skinner. “I mean, it goes above and beyond what anybody even thinks. There’s these amazing stories about him. There’s amazing stories about all those guys in Pittsburgh and seeing it firsthand, it’s better than what people say about them.

“The type of leader that he is, the type of work that he puts in every day. He really takes care of his players, really takes care of his team. Definitely shows the way.”

Skinner confessed that preparing for his first crack at unrestricted free agency brought some uneasiness when thinking about the unknown, especially since the Penguins were eliminated in the opening round by the Philadelphia Flyers, leaving him with more time in the off-season than he was used to.

As the day progressed on July 1, Skinner felt comfortable about the decision to join the Jets and made the commitment.

One of several things that appealed to Skinner was having the opportunity to work closely with Jets goalie coach Wade Flaherty — the club’s “goalie whisperer” who helps netminders refine their techniques to produce their best results.

“He’s such a calm presence. He’s really been helping me and focusing my mind on making the best of my ability better,” said Skinner. “Not focusing too much on the things that I lack.

“He’s given me a lot of really cool little tidbits of feedback, where I hadn’t thought about (those things) in my career quite yet. It’s been very cool to pick his brain and just talk about hockey and talk about goaltending. He’s so intelligent and he’s got such a high IQ about the game.”

Playing in a Canadian city with a passionate fan base is also a plus, even after he dealt with the highs and lows of playing in his hometown.

“Looking back on it, I’m so grateful and so blessed that I was able to go through that,” said Skinner. “When you do go through those things and you do make the right choice or you make the decision to grow through it, things just get easier. It might be hard as you’re going through it. But when you get through to the other side, it just makes you stronger.

“And for me, it builds a lot of character. You could probably ask anybody as a professional athlete, we get some of the best life lessons that you can get with the type of things that we go through. We are a very fortunate group that we get to learn these lessons.”

Skinner got a taste of what this season could be like during home games in the pre-season, as fans shouted “Stuuuuuuu” every time he made a save.

Although Skinner isn’t on social media, he can already feel the support from the Jets fan base as he settles into this next chapter of his career. Those cheers will only get louder if Skinner can take the next step in his development.

“The thing about Stuart for me is that he was a young goalie in his hometown, hoping to be the future for the Edmonton Oilers,” head coach Scott Arniel said earlier in training camp.

“There’s a lot of weight there behind that and he took them to the Stanley Cup final twice. He’s got a real good resumé, and it’s obviously why we were really interested in him when we saw that he was available. For him to want to come here was even better for us, and it certainly helped us in this situation that we’re in right now.”

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