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National Post

Edmonton Oilers new goalie coach not shying away from win-now demands

Surely, there are easier jobs to take in the NHL than becoming the goalie coach of the Edmonton Oilers. Article content After all, with the best player in the world — if not the two best — right now, when things go wrong with the team, you know people aren't pointing to the ones in charge of putting pucks in the net at the other end of the ice. Article content Article content In terms of point production, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have done that job better than anyone else during their past decade playing together, sitting first and second overall. Article content So, the focus of the fan base when times are bad is aimed squarely at the ones whose job it is to keep pucks out of their own net. The last line of defence, if you will. Article content And if the blame becomes common enough over a big enough sample size where the netminders' struggles are seen, justified or not, as the one thing separating this club from the Stanley Cup, well, it's difficult to ignore the common denominator through it all. Article content The goaltending coach. Article content And that's where Peter Aubry comes in, having been announced this week to the Oilers coaching staff under the even-keeled Kris Knoblauch, along with fellow new assistants Paul McFarland and Conor Allen. Article content Aubry understands full well the situation he's coming into, taking over for his predecessor, Dustin Schwartz, whose contract was not extended following 11 seasons of developing talent in the Oilers crease. To various levels of success, of course, after joining the club mid-Decade of Darkness. Article content The difference for Aubry is he's coming aboard an Oilers team in nothing short of win-now mode, after reaching the Stanley Cup Final each of the past two seasons, only to come home emptyhanded. Article content Article content 'A hundred per cent, they are. And I recognize that,' said Aubry, 48. 'This is a big role, and an important role. We're talking about the finest level of the curve right here to make that incremental improvement to win the Stanley Cup. Article content Article content 'I fully recognize that, that's exciting and enticing. I want to do my part.' Article content Aubry is making the jump to a full-time NHL position after spending the past two seasons coaching in NCAA Div. 1 as associate coach at Nebraska-Omaha, where Simon Latkoczy was just named the conference's Goaltender of the Year. Article content A native of Windsor, Ont., Aubry spent the previous eight years working as the developmental goaltending coach in the Chicago Blackhawks system, where he first met Blackhawks-turned-Oilers general manager Stan Bowman. Article content 'Stan's a great man and I'm so fortunate to be able to work for him again,' said Aubry, whose first order of business, even before packing up and moving his family to Edmonton, is familiarizing himself with his top two priorities on the roster, Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. Article content And it's T-minus two months or so before the launch of the pre-season schedule to get acquainted, go over goals and expectations and implement everything into Knoblauch's overall approach to running the team. Article content It doesn't leave a lot of room for error. Especially in an off-season where a vocal sector of the fan base was screaming for changes in the goalie stable. Article content And did we mention expectations aren't getting any smaller on the season to come? Article content It's all part in parcel for Aubry. Article content 'There are daily and yearly regular human pressures that come and go. But insofar as or day-to-day process, I think that's one of those things where you're able to just drown out the noise and look at what we can do today to best prepare,' he said. 'At the same time, that's what makes it so great. Article content 'Personally, one of the big things about going to Edmonton, we're going to one of the best hockey markets in the whole world. That's a positive, and I think high-level athletes and people are driven by that. I'm no different. That's exciting and there's pressure and responsibility that goes with that, and you want to take that head on.' Article content Article content Aubry might be jumping right into the deep end with his new job, but he's already had a chance to get his feet wet in the NHL. Article content 'Back in the 2021-22 season when people were still missing time with COVID, I was up in the NHL for about three weeks,' said Aubry, who had been stationed with the Blackhawks American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford when he was called up to fill in for goaltending coach Jimmy Waite. 'And I was fortunate to be up there with Marc-Andre Fleury and Kevin Lankinen. And Lanks I had in the American league, but that was just a good time to really experience the NHL battle and essentially working with a future Hall-of-Famer. Article content 'Even prior to that, we had Robin Lehner right when he came to Chicago and it was really good getting to work with him all summer leading up to his time there. There is no question I got to work with some good goaltenders and I reflect back on those experiences to propel my coaching game further.' Article content