One of the many ongoing questions we had throughout this summer was how our goaltender prospects were going to be handled. Sure, this may not be as pressing news as the Jason Garrison signing earlier, but with the recently added goaltenders at this years draft, I have been waiting patiently for this news. 

It’s settled, Stuart Skinner will play for the Wichita Thunder in the ECHL this season, and Al Montoya and Dylan Wells will man the nets in Bakersfield. I know this was probably to be expected, as Dylan Wells played in the ECHL last season and it’s now his time to shine in the AHL, but there were rumors going around that Skinner could potentially get the Bakersfield job.

This is definitely the right move to make in regards to Skinner’s development. He’ll likely get a year or two in the ECHL and then make his way up to the Condors depending how long Montoya and/or Koskinen stick around. This means that Shane Starrett will also likely play for the Whichita Thunder again this season. Our final two goalie prospects include Olivier Rodrigue, and Hayden Hawkey. Rodrigue will be playing with the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the QMJHL, and Hawkey will be playing with Providence College in the NCAA.

As I’ve mentioned before, we’ve got a fairly deep goalie prospect pool and I’m really curious to see how it all unfolds five years from now.