Now 2-0 in his two NHL starts, Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger is giving fans a glimpse of what the next several years of Stars goaltending will look like. But long before he made his debut in Victory Green, he was just another teenager chasing his dreams.
One of his first defining moments as a goaltender was back in high school, when he notched a shutout against his old school in the regional finals to make the statewide tournament:
“That fueled me a lot,” Oettinger said. “To be able to go to the state tournament that year, which was a dream of mine, and to have it be against my old teammates and brother (in the stands), it was one of my favorite games.”
Sometime afterwards, Oettinger tried out for the United States National Team Development Program. He had a rocky start to camp, but was able to bounce back and impress the coaches, earning him a spot on the roster:
“In the blink of an eye, hockey all of a sudden became very serious for me, and I really started to believe that my dreams could come true,” Oettinger said.
You can read more about Oettinger’s journey to a first-round NHL draft pick from Saad Yousuf here.
Stars Stories
Mike Heika talks about future contracts and more in his latest mailbag:
🗣 HEY HEIKA!
From potential trade talk to the taxi squad, @MikeHeika answers questions from fans. 📨#GoStars https://t.co/Z8tT49UdYy
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 4, 2021
Also from Heika, Rick Bowness stresses the importance of Dallas building up a fast rivalry with their new division-mates:
“They’re going to be standing between us and getting into the playoffs.”
Bones wants the animosity turned up as the team faces new divisional opponents. 🦴https://t.co/30pi1ajYGX
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 3, 2021
The new Central will be difficult to stand out in. Matthew DeFranks details how the Stars can make that happen:
In order to stay afloat in top-heavy Central Division, the path for the Dallas Stars is clear@MDeFranks | #GoStars https://t.co/JUobcvei1k
— SportsDay Stars (@dmn_stars) February 3, 2021
Around the League
Only two games last night in the entire NHL, one of which was the Tampa Bay Lightning pummeling the Detroit Red Wings 5-1:
Tampa Bay Lightning score early and often in 5-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings https://t.co/yM4SmukAZn
— 2020 Stanley Cup Champions Raw Charge (@RawCharge) February 4, 2021
The Minnesota Wild are the latest team to suffer from a COVID-19 outbreak, with all games up to Tuesday, February 9th postponed:
Schedule Update: @mnwild games postponed at least through Tuesday, Feb. 9. https://t.co/eYZKMkyx0v pic.twitter.com/FiVd8T8dKh
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 4, 2021
To try and prevent more outbreaks, the NHL is implementing the following changes in arenas:
The NHL has made four changes to its in-arena protocols in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. @FriedgeHNIC has the details. ⬇️https://t.co/CnXbVapBCD
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 4, 2021
Meanwhile outbreaks have also taken their toll on women’s hockey, with the NWHL postponing their season:
NWHL suspends playoffs and 2021 season due to COVID positives https://t.co/HNl2R1A5SO
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) February 3, 2021
What happens now? Ken Campbell gives his thoughts:
After #NWHL‘s ‘Bubble’ Bursts, Where Does the League Go From Here?@THNKenCampbell has the latest: https://t.co/ST4oYns96K
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) February 4, 2021
Finally, primetime NHL games in Europe is nothing new, but the NHL is always looking to expand on that:
The NHL has regularly aired primetime games in Europe for the past six seasons, but the number is growing | @seanshapiro ⤵️https://t.co/Fcr0nXZVxa
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) February 4, 2021