Jake Oettinger

Jake Oettinger was the only goaltender selected in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft — taken 26th overall by the Dallas Stars out of Lakeville, Minnesota. That distinction alone marked him as one of the more closely watched goaltending prospects of his draft class, and the Stars have since built their crease around him.

Oettinger played his college hockey at Boston University, where he was named an alternate captain in his final season. He then posted a .917 save percentage in his first AHL season before getting his first taste of NHL action in a pair of relief appearances during the 2020 playoff bubble in Edmonton. His first NHL start came in the shortened 2020-21 season, when Dallas was managing without their usual starter Ben Bishop following offseason knee surgery.

That 2020-21 campaign — 29 games, 11 wins, a 2.36 goals-against average, and a .911 save percentage — established Oettinger as a credible NHL option. The following season, 2021-22, he took on a fuller workload: 48 games, 30 wins, a 2.53 GAA, and a .914 save percentage. By 2022-23, his third full season, he appeared in 62 games, posted a 2.37 GAA and a .919 save percentage, and went 37-11, accumulating five shutouts. The 2023-24 season brought 54 appearances and a 35-14 record, and in 2024-25 he played 58 games — the most of his career to that point — finishing with 36 wins and a .909 save percentage.

Through the 2025-26 season, Oettinger has appeared in 305 career NHL regular-season games, going 184-78-33 with a 2.54 GAA, a .910 save percentage, and 16 shutouts across more than 17,000 minutes of ice time — all with Dallas.

InGoal Magazine has covered Jake Oettinger in one podcast appearance, one drill breakdown, and one InGoal article.

The earliest InGoal coverage came in January 2021, when Kevin Woodley published an excerpt from *The Power Within II* by Justin Goldman and Mike Valley, timed to Oettinger's first NHL start ^[1]. The excerpt captures Oettinger in conversation with Valley about managing distractions and staying present in high-pressure moments. "I always find that whenever I'm trying to be too serious, I tense up. I've always been at my best when I'm loose, relaxed, and having fun," he told Valley. His mantra during his AHL year, he explained, was "Be where your feet are" — a way of staying anchored to the present rather than tracking what was happening at the NHL level above him. The full chapter on Oettinger's mindset appears in the book itself ^[1].

In June 2022, Oettinger joined InGoal Radio for episode 176, discussing, among other things, what it feels like to be in the zone — a topic host Daren Millard described as something Oettinger "describes perfectly" ^[2].

A November 2023 drill breakdown by Kevin Woodley documented the Stars' morning skate warm-up routine, with Oettinger on camera explaining the hip-loosening pad-save drill he runs alongside goalie coach Jeff Reese ^[3]. "It loosens your hips up a little bit, so it's more of a hip warm up and then the back and forth is just to feel the edges," Oettinger explained ^[3]. He also described a follow-up drill involving shooters at different angles — all glove from one corner, all blocker from the other — that the Stars typically run after the hip work, though the session was cut short that day before it could be captured on camera ^[3]. Oettinger noted the drill's origin: goalie coach Jeff Reese had used the same warm-up with Ben Bishop before Oettinger arrived in Dallas ^[3].