Former Oilers prospect Olivier Rodrigue signs in KHL

A former top goaltending prospect is heading overseas.

On Thursday, Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League announced the team has signed netminder Olivier Rodrigue to a one-year contract for the 2025-26 season.

A few years ago, Rodrigue seemed poised to be part of the next wave of goaltending talent to come through the NHL. Along with winning gold for Team Canada at the 2017 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he shone during his tenure in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League with the Drummondville Voltigeur and Moncton Wildcats. He earned a spot on the Canadian National Junior Team that won the gold medal at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship as well.

On top of that, he was picked by the Edmonton Oilers in the second round, 62nd overall, of the 2018 NHL Draft. However, after turning pro during the 2020-21 season, things have been bumpy for the Saguenay, Que. native. He has spent most of the past four seasons in the American Hockey League with the Bakersfield Condors, the Oilers’ primary affiliate, including a brief stint in the ECHL with the Wichita Thunder during the 2021-22 campaign.

Rodrigue finally got a shot in the NHL this past season. Thanks to an injury to Stuart Skinner, the 25-year-old made his big-league debut on March 27 against the Seattle Kraken, coming in relief for Calvin Pickard. Rodrigue’s first and only start in the NHL came on April 7 against the Anaheim Ducks, but he was credited with a loss in a 3-2 decision.

In 131 AHL appearances, Rodrigue posted a 61-52-17 record with a 2.92 goals-against average, a .905 save percentage and two shutouts.

Rodrigue joins a team in Barys that’s hoping for some better days. One of the founding members of the KHL, the team out of Kazakhstan made it to the Gagarin Cup Playoffs in 12 of its first 14 seasons in the league. However, Astana has missed the postseason in each of the past three seasons, including posting a league-worst 35 points in 2024-25.