After years of struggling to develop a homegrown goalie talent, the Dallas Stars are convinced they have their goaltender of the future in 2017 first rounder Jake Oettinger. Serving as Anton Khudobin’s backup during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, Oettinger gained a lot of experience both on and off the ice, setting him up for future success:
“I don’t think you can really put into words how valuable everything that I went through and experienced was. I think being able to learn from (Anton Khudobin and Ben Bishop) and from our goalie coach Jeff Reese every day was something I’ll never forget, and it’s already helping me right now in my game. I already feel like I’m a much better goalie now than I was before the reboot happened.”
Oettinger believes he’s ready for the NHL now, but Khudobin and Ben Bishop are both under contract until 2023. That might change in the future with the NHL Expansion Draft looming in 2021, but for now, Oettinger will likely have to get his playing time elsewhere:
“I want to play in games. At the end of the day, I want those games to come with the Dallas Stars. But if they’re not, I’ll go anywhere to play games… that’s where I’m going to make the biggest strides by just getting more experience in those games, whether it be in the NHL, AHL, ECHL, KHL or somewhere over in Europe, who knows, only time is going to tell that. Hopefully, we can get that sorted out soon and I can find a home for next year.”
You can read more from Saad Yousuf’s interview with Oettinger here.
Around the League
Already missing hockey? Don’t worry — the World Juniors aren’t too far away:
The 2021 world juniors schedule is out and @THNRyanKennedy has his five must-watch games of the tournament https://t.co/UFjbYRYrqR
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) October 20, 2020
According to Down Goes Brown, each NHL team has been responsible for the creation of some rule, unwritten or otherwise:
From earlier: Finding one NHL rule, tradition or oddity that each team is directly responsible for. Learn the stories behind why we have trade calls, playoff beards, a draft lottery and the loser point. https://t.co/dFFMwqOLkM pic.twitter.com/sXfiFBTg16
— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) October 20, 2020
The Chicago Blackhawks have been drumming up some internal drama lately, and I am here for it:
The Blackhawks sent a letter to fans today committing to a rebuild. I talked to GM Stan Bowman at length about what it all means—from how it affects the veterans to salary cap$$
“We don’t have enough players, top to bottom, to compete with the top teams”https://t.co/p1550KHMfn
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) October 20, 2020
Finally, the NHL is still trying to hammer out details for the 2020-21 season, as well as the all important status of the AHL:
Friday’s NHL GMs call is likely to focus on season logistics, AHL start date.@PierreVLeBrun reports. https://t.co/B39M729Hgo
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) October 20, 2020