With their third pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, the Edmonton Oilers made a move to stick around in the second round, trading the 71st and 133rd picks to Montreal in exchange for the 62nd overall section. With that pick, the Oilers drafted goaltender Olivier Rodrigue from the Drummondville Voltigeurs.
BIO:
Born: July 6th, 2000 — City: Chicoutimi, QC
Height: 6 feet 1 inch — Weight: 155 lbs [185 cm/70 kg]
SCOUTING REPORTS
From CanucksArmy’s Prospect Profiles:
“The Quebec born goaltender is calm in his net with controlled movements to direct the puck out of danger. He is able to square up to set plays very well and limits the second and third chances by directing the puck into the corner with his blocker and pads or by using his active stick to break up the opponent’s attack. He is good at anticipating a play through quick checks and reads that allow him to make a save look easier than it is.”
From the ISS:
“Athletic butterfly goalie capable of highlight-reel saves due to his quickness.”
Don’t let Rodrigue’s size scare you away — this kid’s reflexes, rebound control and post-to-post quickness are exceptional. He’s an aggressive netminder who will dart out of the crease to defend shots from anywhere within his own end, and he’s proven to safely steer high-danger shots either into the corners or far from the low slot. Rodrigue’s stick is very active and times his poke checks very well, plus his ability to lock in on pucks throughout an entire cycle helps him interdict cross-crease passes from either corner. His glove hand and its positioning are a work in progress, which when coupled with a low silhouette makes him susceptible to get beaten upstairs, especially on the short side.
At just 6-foot-1 Rodrigue is a bit smaller than the prototypical NHL goaltender. He makes up for this with excellent agility and skating ability. Rodrigue comes out of his net and cuts down angles extremely well. He maximizes his size and gives shooters little room to work worth. His quick backwards skating prevents him from being beaten by a deke as he comes out. His strong edges and good push allow him to move laterally quickly. Rodrigue tracks the puck well and is square to the shooter. He likes to use his stick to poke check opponents as well as to cut down the cross-crease passing lane. Rodrigue has quick legs and takes away the bottom of the net effectively. He gets in and out of the butterfly quickly.
PRE-DRAFT RANKINGS
- 2018 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #54 by HOCKEYPROSPECT.COM
- 2018 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #101 by FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
- 2018 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #65 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
- 2018 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #1 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Goalies
- 2018 NHL Entry Draft: Ranked #49 by TSN/McKenzie
VIDEO AND HIGHLIGHTS
NHL Combine Interview:
Highlight pack from the past three seasons:
Another highlight pack:
CAREER STATS SO FAR
Season Stats:
| SEASON | TEAM | LEAGUE | GP | GAA | SVS% | PGP | GAA | SVS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 |  Jonquière Élites |
QMAAA | 1 | 1.00 | .950 | |||
| 2015-16 | Jonquière Élites |
QMAAA | 26 | 2.29 | .923 | 4 | 3.36 | .911 |
| 2016-17 | Drummondville Voltigeurs |
QMJHL | 41 | 3.60 | .878 | 2 | 4.58 | .848 |
 Canada White U17 |
WHC-17 | 5 | 3.27 | .894 | ||||
| 2017-18 | Drummondville Voltigeurs |
QMJHL | 53 | 2.54 | .903 | 10 | 2.50 | .891 |
| Canada U18 |
WJC-18 | 3 | 1.33 | .949 |
Tournament Stats:
| SEASON | TEAM | LEAGUE | GP | GAA | SVS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | Chicoutimi Jr Saguenéens |
QC Int PW | 3 | 1.68 | – |
| 2015-16 | Team Québec White |
QGC-16 | 3 | 0.67 | .970 |
| Canada U16 |
YOG | 3 | 1.73 | .862 | |
| 2017-18 | Canada U18 |
Hlinka Memorial | 4 | 1.00 | .942 |
One of Dobber Prospects or The Draft Analyst got lazy?
Yeah, how can there be such a gap in the rankings? I guess take out the lowest & highest & go from there?
He’s been invited to the Team Canada Summer Showcase and has a shot at Team Canada for the World Juniors. I think he’s in line to be the starter for Team Canada in 2020 (yes, he’ll still be junior-aged).
A solid pick.
Maybe his Dad & the Team President have something to do with that?
Because the vids show a guy on his knees way too early to not be figured out quickly by the opposition.
I don’t think Talbot will be signing here long term.
The future of goaltending looks bright! Skinner and Roudrique are both top quality prospects. Furthermore, getting the best goaltender in the draft during the third round is great scouting. Shoutout to Keith Gretzky on this one
he has to suck because his dad works for the organisation….
Maybe he is friends with Keegan? Looks like a quality prospect, but the stink of nepotism continues.
Some people just come on here to complain. Are things always just doom and gloom.
Oiler Domination To Follow
Are you telling me that complaining about our AHL team’s 7th defensemen doesn’t make me look smart?
“Looks like a quality prospect”
How can you say that and complain at the same time?
We have two legit prospects in Skinner and Rodrigue, it sure beats having lower-end no chance guys like Frans Tuohimaa or Olivier Roy. Keith has done a solid job drafting, one thing that I like is that we actually have prospects from 3 years ago that we are talking about for the right reasons instead of “Oilers prospect signs in 2nd tier European league”
Kid looks solid. Hey, more prospects the better and he is excited to be an Oiler.
If he’s that legit, how come out of 5 evaluations we have him as high as 1 & as low as 101st? I say be cautious. Nepotism MAY be in play here?
does this look familiar?
Zachary Fucale
Goalie — shoots L
Born May 28 1995 — Laval, PQ
[23 yrs. ago]
Height 6.02 — Weight 187 [188 cm/85 kg]
Drafted by Montreal Canadiens
– round 2 #36 overall 2013 NHL Entry Draft
2011-12 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 58 0 2 3249 171 4 2 3.16 32 18 6 1412 0.892 17 1 0
2012-13 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 55 2 2 3162 124 1 2 2.35 45 5 3 1232 0.909 17 2 0
2013-14 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 50 0 2 2917 110 3 6 2.26 36 9 3 1076 0.907 15 1 2
HMM lets see, topranked goalie, check
Trading up to get the pick, check
montreal involve, check
goalie from QMJHL, check
medicore numbers, check
all the rave for the canadian junior team. check
similar size, check
similar scouting report, check
AHL/ECHL goalie, TBD, but the odds say yes.
The pick is not good or bad because it is an oilers kid, or because of the player. The pick is bad because of elite ranked goalies do not turn out that often and it is safer to pick goalies in the later rounds,
fingers crossed he turns out.
As opposed to the other 3rd round picks who where a sure thing to turn out? Gimme a break 1 similar example is statistically irrelevant. Even 1st overall picks dont always turn out well so taking a chance on the consensus best goalie in the draft seems rather reasonable. Even if he turns out to be a complete flop I still think it will have been a good bet.
look at the nhl goalies, they are all drafted all over the place. drafting the consensus number 1 goalie seldomly turns out.
If you play the odds at the draft, you will do better.
That is done by BPA, avoiding tier 2 level leagues, minimizing drafting from the Q, taking goalies late, and drafting for size.
How many teams can say they have a history of good drafting. Not many. But history shows us, that these are the best odds.
and why are you saying 3rd round pick? it was a 2nd.
and i guess the main idea is drafting a goalie who can not save more than 90 percent of his shots in junior, is likely not going to save more than 90 in the nhl. This is why I compared to fucale. It is the exact same player and the exact same numbers and exact same situation.
– [ ] He was drafted in the third round, not the second. Sure he might fail. But the Oil have done a good job building up the goalie base. Sure, Rodrigue might not make it, but between him, Skinner, Koskinnen and Hawkey, the team suddenly has great depth at the goalie position. I think it’s a good bet that one of those guys becomes a good NHL stater. Chia can be criticized for many things, but his approach to the draft has been a breath of fresh air.
Its very hard to tell with young goaltenders who will play in the nhl and who won’t. A pile that didn’t: Tyler Bunz, Joaquin Gage, Mike Morrison, Mike Minard, Mike Greenlay, Laurent Brossoit, Olivier Roy, Daryl Reaugh, Jeff Deslauriers.
Only 3 that did: Andy Moog, Grant Fuhr, and Devan Dubnyk
.970!!!! that would be good to have over 40 or so games?