The hardest thing to do in hockey is identify future starting goaltenders as they wind their way up (or down) the prospect pipeline. The Edmonton Oilers have drafted and developed exactly four who have played over 200 NHL games. Those four men arrived in 47 seasons of drafting: Andy Moog (1980), Grant Fuhr (1981), Devan Dubnyk (2004) and Stuart Skinner (2017).
When making a case for Samuel Jonsson, currently starring for the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets, as Edmonton’s goalie of the future, the argument must be compelling.
The resume
If we are going to build an argument for Jonsson, his draft pedigree will not help the cause. Chosen in the fifth round (158th) of the 2022 draft, Jonsson emerging as a No. 1 NHL goalie would be an upset to scouts who saw him. It’s possible (Moog was a seventh-round pick in 1980), but the odds are stacked against him.
Jonsson has done some things worthy of attention since he was drafted. In his final season in Sweden, he won the Goalie of the Year award in the Allsvenskan on merit. He finished second in save percentage (.922), led the league in shutouts (6) and goals-against average (1.88). The Allsvenskan is Sweden’s second league, but many of the nation’s electric young stars play there before moving on to the SweHL or NHL.
Jonsson’s outstanding Allsvenskan season earned him a contract with the Oilers. He is playing in the ECHL (below the AHL in quality) this year and has impressed. Here are his numbers by month in 2025-26:
MonthGamesSave PctGA-Average
October
2
0.915
2.5
November
4
0.934
1.23
December
4
0.859
3.91
January
5
0.942
1.61
February
9
0.907
2.55
March
3
0.942
1.3
Overall
27
0.914
2.24
All numbers via ECHL.com
One of the things NHL teams look for in goalies is consistency. Jonsson struggled in December and was stretched in February due to a heavy workload, but the overall numbers shine. A reasonable takeaway from his month-over-month progression is that Jonsson is ready for the next level. That will take him to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL.
The scouting report
Jonsson is a big goaltender. At 6-foot-5, 201 pounds, he fits the modern NHL goalie prototype and is a perfect match for Edmonton’s established preference (big goalies) at the position.
One of the reasons Jonsson should be regarded highly as a prospect comes from improvement in areas of weakness. A few months after he was drafted by Edmonton, Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala wrote, “biggest concern is his lateral tracking and overall quickness. He has a very difficult time moving quickly from side to side when players skate behind his net looking to stuff pucks far post. His second stop reaction and scramble ability are lethargic.”
By January 2025, Scott Wheeler at The Athletic reported: “massive goalie (6-foot-5/6 depending on who you ask) who has refined his coordination and control, footwork and habits to complement his natural ability for his size.” Earlier this month, Wheeler ranked Jonsson as the No. 4 prospect in Edmonton’s system. That’s a lot of progress over the past two seasons.
Even with the positive steps, Wheeler stops well short of projecting Jonsson as the Oilers goalie of the future. Is there something about this player, with his current resume, that suggests he has a chance?
When are goalies ready?
In 2013, Colby Cosh of Maclean’s advanced a theory: goalies don’t improve. It’s more involved than recalling teenagers to play net right after the draft, but there’s a compelling argument from Cosh that suggests goalies peak earlier than the industry believes, and therefore slow-playing top-quality netminders is inefficient and limiting.
Jonsson indicated he is a cut above in the Allsvenskan last year, and has continued (December aside) in the ECHL this season. If he is a future No. 1 NHL goaltender, it would behoove Oilers general manager Stan Bowman to move Jonsson up the depth chart and into the AHL before the end of this season.
There are some complications. The Oilers have a large group of goaltenders in the system currently, and Connor Ungar is also spiking in the ECHL. Which of the two goalies should see Bakersfield first? The Condors are currently struggling, with veterans Matt Tomkins and Calvin Pickard having a tough time keeping the puck out of the net.
Ungar has a .928 save percentage over four stops in the ECHL, because the Oilers are loaning him out in order to make sure he gets games and stays sharp. Ungar’s time in the AHL earlier this season was successful (.926 save percentage in 12 games).
Ungar is 24, Jonsson 22. Both men are delivering performances that suggest readiness for the next level and a possible NHL future. Given the choice of elevating one or the other, Oilers management has yet to make a decision. That’s typical for the industry as it pertains to pushing goalies up the organizational depth chart in a timely fashion.
Bottom line
Elevating Jonsson to the AHL might seem ludicrous, but the Oilers extravagant spending on free agents (notably Jack Campbell) and expensive sojourns into the trade market (recently, Tristan Jarry) is even more outrageous.
Sending both Jonsson and Ungar to Bakersfield would be an unusual move, but the idea has merit. The Condors’ goaltending hasn’t been of high quality recently. Tomkins has an .889 save percentage in his most recent five games, and Pickard’s save percentage in March (.866 in three games) is alarming.
Over the last decade, Peter Chiarelli (Cam Talbot, Mikko Koskinen), Ken Holland (Campbell, Mike Smith) and Bowman (Jarry) have spent precious assets and cap room on veterans brought in to solve the issue in net. Holland ended the cycle of waste when Skinner stepped into the starter’s role in 2022, but that solution was on the way to becoming more expensive (Skinner needed a contract for 2026-27), and the results didn’t merit the likely cost on a new deal.
The Jarry acquisition is another attempt by the team to solve a problem that has stretched out for more than a decade. Perhaps Connor Ingram, acquired at low cost, will break the cycle of expensive additions who fail to deliver.
There’s an alternative. Jonsson isn’t NHL-ready now, but a recall to Bakersfield this spring, along with a real opportunity to play NHL games next season, is a reasonable path forward. Bowman could change the direction of the goalie position in Edmonton for a decade by simply offering an opportunity to a goaltender who has announced his readiness for the next level. It may not work out, but the investment cost (AHL games as an audition) is far less painful than another trade for an expensive goalie who can’t solve the problems in Edmonton’s net.
