Goaltending has once again become a hot topic for the Edmonton Oilers.
At the NHL level, things have taken a bit of a dive of late. Both Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram have been struggling over the past few weeks, and there is now some doubt that trading Stuart Skinner may have been a mistake.
It’s early on in both Jarry and Ingram’s Edmonton tenures, but any sign of faltering will not get by an Oilers fanbase who has been craving good goaltending for a few seasons now. It’s certainly not where the team wants it to be with the Olympic break looming next week.
However, there is also a bit of good news bubbling up from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, who have a red-hot prospect goalie in Connor Ungar. The 24-year-old stole headlines in January after a torrid start to his AHL career, and things have only gotten better.
Saturday night’s 3-2 victory against the reigning AHL champion Abbotford Canucks may have been the best he’s looked yet, as Ungar made an incredible 51 saves to secure the victory.
Goodnight, Condorstown!😴#Condorstown pic.twitter.com/ymUhSxj60Q
— Bakersfield Condors (@Condors) February 1, 2026
That 51-save performance set a Condors club record as the most in a single game, and it may have made Ungar impossible to ignore any longer. The former U-Sports goaltender now has an incredible 7-1-0 record and .949 SV% in his first eight AHL games.
His running-mate, Matt Tomkins, has also been great, having posted a 4-1-2 and .947 SV% in his last seven games.
It’s still unlikely that Ungar will get NHL starts with the Oilers, as the NHL club currently has three goalies on the roster with Jarry, Ingram, and Calvin Pickard. Still, it feels like with every stellar performance, the odds of that happening continue to rise just a little bit.
There is anything but certainty in the Oilers crease right now, and he is currently the best-performing goalie in the entire organization.