Edmonton Oilers sign college free agent goaltender Connor Ungar

Hockey’s version of March Madness is underway, and the Edmonton Oilers have made their first move. I speak of course of the annual flood of free agent signings out of university ranks that occurs as the college puck season winds down.

Monday morning the Oilers announced the signing of goaltender Brock Ungar from Ontario’s Brock University.

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Just 36 hours earlier, the Oilers’ interest in Ungar had been touted by U SPORTS journalist Ben Steiner, and subsequently mentioned by the Cult of Hockey‘s Kurt Leavins in his weekly column 9 Things yesterday.

By virtue of his age, 22, Ungar’s Entry Level Contract is set at 2 years. Although the Oilers release does not specify, it is expected that the actual contract will kick in next season, and that for now he will join the organization on an amateur tryout. Such an arrangement is common for most late-season signings give or take the odd exception like Cale Makar who want to burn through a year of his ELC.

UPDATE: Both CapFriendly and PuckPedia record Ungar’s deal as a “Future Contract” running from 2024-26.

Therefore, Ungar will not occupy the 50th and last spot on the Oilers 50-man list as it currently stands. While he will join Bakersfield Condors for now, it seems unlikely he would get much game action on a club that is in the capable hands of co-#1s Jack Campbell and Olivier Rodrigue and battling for playoff position. This will be a time for the new man to watch and learn. If he does play, it will likely be in the ECHL.

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Ungar is something of a late bloomer. The Calgary native played parts of 3 seasons for the Brandon Wheat Kings, but saw just 15 games of action in total over that span. But over the last 3, he’s been the #1 man for 3 different clubs, piling up the wins while posting increasingly excellent save percentages of .911 for Red Deer Rebels, .925 for Moose Jaw Warriors in his over-age season, and now an eye-popping .932 for Brock in his first and only campaign in U SPORTS.

While players from Canadian university backgrounds don’t commonly make it all the way to the NHL these days, a recent major exception was also a goaltender… for Brock University. In 2018-19 another former Wheat King Logan Thompson similarly played 1 year at that institution, posting a .934 save percentage before turning pro that spring. He was ultimately signed by Vegas Golden Knights where the now 27-year-old has amassed 93 NHL games with a .911 save percentage.

Logan Thompson, 2018-19: 18-6-0, 2.22, .934Connor Ungar, 2023-24: 20-6-0, 2.15, .932

Each having played an over-aage season in the Dub, both players turned 22 early in the new year of their season at Brock,

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That school’s men’s hockey page had the following summary of Ungar’s season earlier this month:

Collecting two major awards, first-year Connor Ungar took the league by storm, as he was named both the OUA West Goaltender of the Year and OUA West Rookie of the Year. On top of that, the Calgary product also earned a spot on the OUA West First Team and the OUA West All-Rookie Team. Ungar set a program record with 20 regular season wins, placing him first in the OUA and U SPORTS in that category. His 2.15 goals against average (GAA) and .932 save percentage (SV%) were both fourth in the province during the regular season, with his SV% placing him fifth in the country.  

“Connor is professional in his preparation and development,” said [head coach T.J.] Manastersky. “Having a committed player who performs at such a high level puts pressure on our opponents every game.”

With his addition, there are now 6 signed goaltenders in the Oilers system, all of whom are trending well:

NHL:

Stu Skinner: 30-13-4, 2.57, .908Calvin Pickard: 9-4-0, 2.27, .919

AHL:

Jack Campbell: 16-11-0, 2.60, .920Olivier Rodrigue: 14-8-4, 2.71, .918

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ECHL:

Ryan Fanti: 7-4-2, 2.85, .912

OUAA:

Connor Ungar, 20-6-0, .2.15, .932

Pickard, Rodrigue and Fanti are on expiring contracts, with the Oilers holding RFA rights on the latter 2 stoppers and rumoured to be negotiating an extension with Pickard.

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Update:

Good news on Oilers defeceman Vincent Desharnais:

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Ryan Rishaug of TSN adds: “Desharnais on the ice. But Stetcher taking reps with Nurse, Kulak Ceci, Bouchard and Ekholm… Desharnais handling the puck well. Shooting too.”

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…suggesting that Troy Stecher will slide into Desharnais’ spot alongside Darnell Nurse when the Oilers host Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, but that Desharnais will not be out for as long as initially feared.

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