The Edmonton Oilers used their third pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft to select goaltender Olivier Rodrigue with the 62nd overall selection. To move up to that last selection in the second round, Peter Chiarelli traded the 71st and 133rd overall picks to the Montreal Canadiens.
Who is Olivier Rodrigue?
| Position | Catches | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goaltender | Left | 6’1″ | 174 Lbs |
Rodrigue is a smooth skating netminder with a slight frame. He was drafted out of the QMJHL, playing for the Drummondville Voltigeurs in his draft year. He had been ranked 49th in Bob McKenzie’s Final Rankings, showing that the Oilers didn’t reach for him. This came just a year after the Oilers had traded up for Stuart Skinner in the 2017 draft, sending the 82nd and 126th pick to Arizona in exchange for pick 78.
The interesting part of Edmonton selecting Rodrigue in particular is that his father, Sylvain Rodrigue, has been the Oilers’ developmental goalie coach going back to the 2015–16 season, giving the organization extra familiarity with the player.
Rodrigue’s on-ice production
Rodrigue has been slowly moving up the junior and pro ranks as his career has progressed. He played for Drummondville in the QMJHL before getting moved in his final junior season to Moncton, where the Wildcats looked poised to win the Q before the COVID-19 pandemic shut things down. Rodrigue’s transition to pro was rough, having to start overseas in Austria before coming back to North America. However, he’s showed promise since, improving on his AHL save percentage in each consecutive season, placing in the top 10 of eligible goaltenders in each of the last two campaigns.
Rodrigue’s player profile
With his father being his personal goalie coach, Rodrigue’s technical base shines through watching the Quebec native man the pipes.
Rodrigue strengths
Post play
The biggest asset in Rodrigue’s game in his post play. He moves in and out of his posts in a seamless fashion that is likely unmatched in the organization. He primarily deploys reverse-VH, which keeps the short side pad flush to the ice with the back side skate edge engaged, and helps Rodrigue push his smaller frame to the top parts of the net when shooters attack up high. The strong integrations and rotations feed into his next strength.
Skating
Watching Rodrigue move around the crease is impressive. There’s very little wasted movement, going from point A to point B due to his efficient rotations. As he starts to bulk up he could likely get a bit more explosive, but his technique is so flawless that he can still get to where he needs to be.
Tracking
At Rodrigue’s size, tracking is paramount to cut off the edges of the net. He has made it a priority to do so, tracking down on releases, allowing him to close on pucks and move towards the shot trajectories, which cut down holes. It allows him to make saves with his gloves look easy, along with being able to frequently use his chest to swallow up rebounds.
Rodrigue’s areas of improvement
Reading the play
Reading the play is the toughest part of being a goalie, and the facet of the game that normally takes the longest to develop. Rodrigue generally does a good job of reading the play when its in front of him. However, when the play goes to the backside, Rodrigue can get caught unprepared. His technically flawless rotations can end up flat, leaving him not square to the shot and out of position. As he gains more experience he should be able to anticipate these plays better, along with increasing the frequency of his scans of the ice.
Navigating traffic
One of the biggest challenges of being a 6’1″ goaltender at the pro level is navigating traffic to find the puck. Tracking the puck is such an essential part of any goalie’s game that without proper sightlines it’ll lead to some easy exposure. Rodrigue’s first read is to look over screens, which can pose challenges at his height to actually see releases. He also can get caught sticking with his initial read for too long when the best lane is somewhere else around the body. This was something that has just been improving in the back half of this season with Stuart Skinner in the NHL, so it should come with time for Rodrigue.
Rebound control
Rodrigue generally does a great job controlling rebounds with his gloves and chest, but he can get caught using his pads too much down low. In the American league it hasn’t really posed too many problems, but as he graduates and faces better shooters, getting his stick on pucks will be essential.
Rodrigue’s next steps and projection with the Oilers
Rodrigue is starting a one-year extension with a $775K cap hit ($125K in the minors), but is now waiver eligible, meaning he’ll have to pass through the league in order to get to his projected spot in Bakersfield. With the contracts given to Calvin Pickard and Collin Delia, Rodrigue’s role look very clear. Rodrigue is going to play the bulk of the games for the Condors in this upcoming season, with Delia being the first call up if the NHL squad needs someone to sit on the bench. If Edmonton ends up needing someone to start other than Skinner or Pickard, my bet would be that it would be Rodrigue between the pipes.
The hope for Rodrigue should be to continue to progress at the AHL level and get spot duty at the NHL level this season. He looks as close to NHL ready as can be at this point, but a report came out that the organization believes the 24-year-old needs two more seasons in the minors. An optimistic timeline for Rodrigue would be to dominate in the AHL during 2024–25, then steal the back up job from Pickard next fall.
Ultimately Rodrigue looks like he’ll be a backup/1B type netminder at the NHL level. If he can get some NHL reps, there’s a decent chance that it could happen behind Stuart Skinner in Edmonton, but it seems there’s little chance he ever has the upside to take the reigns in the major leagues.
