Calvin Pickard is entering his third season with the Edmonton Oilers organization, but it is the first fall where he has a firm grasp on a spot on the NHL roster. After a full season with the Bakersfield Condors during the first year, Pickard was able to be an adequate back up solution for the Oilers after Jack Campbell struggled. Pickard’s career reached it’s high point in the second round, when the 32-year-old made his first career NHL playoff start, beating the Vancouver Canucks 3–2 in Game 4 before losing Game 5 by the same score.
Pickard’s playing career
Pickard was born in Monton, New Brunswick, but played his minor hockey in Winnipeg before joining the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. He played four seasons with Seattle, debuting as a 16-year-old before graduating to pro as a 20-year-old. He totaled 241 games played, with a .909 SV%, and 3.29 GAA in the WHL.
Based on his junior success, the Colorado Avalanche drafted Pickard 49th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft. After turning pro, Pickard spent two full seasons in the AHL then another two seasons split between the NHL and AHL. During the 2016–17 season, he became a full time NHLer, playing 50 games while the Avs toiled to a league worst finish. Between that ill fated season and his Oilers tenure, Pickard bounced around the AHL.
He was selected by Vegas in the expansion draft, before being waived and claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 32-year-old then spent time with the Marlies (Toronto AHL), Flyers, Coyotes, Tuscon Roadrunners, Red Wings, and Grand Rapids Griffins before ending up in Bakersfield in 2022–23.
Pickard international play
Pickard represented Canada frequently while in the junior ranks, and made two appearances at the senior level earlier in his career. Pickard started by playing five games for Canada West at the U17 World Hockey Championships, where he put up a .894 SV%. This was followed by four games at the 2009 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament, where he put up a 1.75 GAA.
Immediately before the draft, Pickard played six games at the U18 World Hockey Championships, putting up an .894 SV%. Pickard then appeared at two senior’s World Championships in 2016 and 2017. He posted a .971 SV% in two games the first time around, following that up with a .938 SV% in seven games in his return.
Pickard career statistics
Pickard’s NHL Career total 139 games played, where he has a total of five shutouts, 47 wins, 61 losses, and 11 over time loses, backed by a 2.93 GAA and .904 SV%.
Pickard player profile
Pickard has been around long enough for everyone to know that he is what he is. He’s not going to turn into an All-Star for the Oilers this season in some Jordan Binnington run. He simply doesn’t have the physical tools for that to happen. Pickard is going to be a great teammate that isn’t going to lose the team winnable games.
That first strength is being a great teammate might be the most important attribute. Stuart Skinner went through his first career goalie battle during last year’s training camp, eventually leading to Jack Campbell starting the season opener in Vancouver. By all reports, Campbell was a great teammate, but there was competition for playing time, which may have impacted Skinner’s start of the season. We now know that Pickard and Skinner work great together as a tandem, which likely sets Skinner up for the most success as the team’s starter.
Pickard finished last regular season with a .909 SV%, 2.45 GAA, and 12-7-1 record, followed by a .915 SV% in three games against the Canucks. For an organizational #3, that was a great result. However, the issue comes down to the fact that Pickard struggled against playoff teams.
Pickard has one single start above a .900 SV% came in the playoffs against the Canucks. Before that, he had struggled immensely against playoff calibre offences, but capitalized when playing lesser quality teams. With Skinner making 82 starts in 2023–24 and with a new baby on the way, it will be more important that the Edmonton plays less. Pickard can be great against the bad teams, but I’m not convinced we’ll see a turnaround in his numbers against strong offences.
Pickard’s skating becomes an issue when he has to play up to stronger competition. The veteran does not have great mobility from his stance, getting locked in with his hips bent over and knees locked out.
This requires Pickard to make an extra movement with his backside leg to balance his weight, which leads to delays setting on pucks and even more delay if there’s a second pass. It also requires every movement to be a big push, meaning that smaller shuffles that could normally make for accurate adjustments show up in drifting where he can sometimes lose his net.
Pickard’s stance also hampers his ability to make saves with his gloves and his pads. To get into the butterfly from his stance, Pickard’s upper body straightens, which pulls his gloves away from the shot’s release point while also creating a secondary movement to track pucks to his pads on the ice.
Where Pickard fits into the Oilers lineup
After receiving a two-year, $2M contract extension this past summer, Pickard seems to have a lock on the back up role to Skinner to start the 2024–25 season. After two years of the roller coaster that was Jack Campbell, Jeff Jackson seems to have opted for a less upside but more stability in the veteran that spent most of his career in the minor leagues.
His spot on the roster won’t be unchallenged, as top prospect Olivier Rodrigue has shown success at the American league level, and being waiver eligible for the first time this year, will be making an effort to stake his claim to a roster spot. It seems likely that Pickard will start the season in the NHL based on the two-year, one-way deal, but if the coaching staff determines that they’ll need more upside behind Skinner, that will have to come from another player. There is a chance that Dustin Schwartz doesn’t like what he sees from either Pickard or Rodrigue in training camp and the Oilers decide to scour the waiver wire for a goaltending option. Roster projections indicate that quality options will be available, particularly when looking at Detroit, Buffalo, Winnipeg, Florida and Vancouver’s crease depth charts.
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