Jake Oettinger On New Dallas Stars Coaching Staff & Olympic Hopes
you know, way of seeing things. So, I think everyone’s just excited to to get to know Gully and, you know, see what he brings to the table and then just to feels like, you know, first day of school every time we come back. So, every every year I come back here, you know, I just feel like super lucky and grateful to be, you know, being ready to play in the NHL again pretty well. How about the hunger level after getting to three Western Conference Finals? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think we had a great meeting last night. I mean, Billy had a great message for all of us and it’s just I mean, every guy, you know, what can you do a little bit differently? Um, you know, so for me, just looking internally like, you know, what do I have to do? What can I change? What can I I do to, you know, get back to that point and then to finally get over that hump. What have your conversations been like with Billy so far? How involved does it seem like he’s going to be in your game and how much is he going to leave up to RE? Yeah, it’s uh pretty like brief, honestly. I mean I mean he’s had a million things going on so I don’t blame him. So I’m assuming in the next few weeks we’ll the goalie department will all sit down and and get to chat with him but just first impressions been you know great and I second he got hired I had like 20 people reach out to me like hey you’re going to love this guy and I mean what more go you want it’s it’s pretty rare. So um excited to get to work with them and and then obviously to have RER back and be with Case again. It’s uh it’s just a great great goalie group. With the compact schedule with the Olympics this year, I think a lot of discussion will be around the league about workload and managing starts and things like that. Do you just feel like just by nature of how many backto-backs you all might have, you’re going to play maybe less than you have in the past? Yeah, probably. I think um I mean when you’re you have your other goalies Casey to Smith, it’s like pretty uh pretty great situation. I mean, he’s one of the best boys in the league last year, so he deserves to to play a lot. And um, you know, I think both of us are just focused on trying to be fresh. I think it’s a huge luxury to have when, you know, hopefully the coaches feel like they can go to either of us and and get a great game out of both of us. So, um, yeah, like you said, at the Olympics, obviously, if I can be a part of that team and, you know, that would mean no great the whole season for me. So, um, got to play the long game as well, and I want to be, you know, playing my best hockey from April May. We talked a lot about the mental side of the game, golf, we’ve compared it all. How much did the adversity at the end of last season affect you? And did you I mean, like, as you go through the summer, do you use your brain to help balance it all out and see where you are? Yeah, I think um, obviously, you know, tough situation um, to go through and, you know, lucky for me, I have best support system in the world around me. you know, my wife, family, friends, uh, you know, teammates, like just the response I got from from the people that care about me is, you know, I felt like the luckiest guy in the world to have those people around me. And, you know, when you got, you know, a lot of people around you that don’t care about wins or losses, they care about you as a human being. It’s a lot easier to, you know, be in this position. So, I just feel like, you know, in the long run, I feel like I’m going to look back on it as something that helped me and and, you know, when we do win at all, it’s going to be, you know, look back and laugh and feel like that was something I had to go through in order to get to the Did that make the sting of missing, you know, not getting the cup even harder, the personal part of it for you, or was it all kind of the same? All the same, I’d say. Yeah. just I mean I I think it was a little more um a little more blown out of proportion than it actually was. I think you know stuff happens you know emotions run high and you know people you know say and do things on a whim that you know maybe they look back and and regret. I mean I’ve done that in my life. I’m sure everyone here has done that. So you sometimes you say stuff you don’t really mean cuz you’re emotional and that’s how it goes sometimes. So, you just you learn from it and and that’s what I did. Have you seen Pete’s comments where he said he regretted, you know, maybe the comments he made after the game? Do you have any any thoughts on uh someone told me that at like the media thing? I mean, yeah, I think he hit the nail on the head with what he said. So, just leave it at that. With team USA, you talked about wanting to make the team. Um, I think a lot of a lot of conversation was had with the way Helbook played in the playoffs, way you were playing in that playoffs, especially in that series with you two. Has Team USA given you any indication of what they need to see for them to make that decision come? Nothing. Nothing at all, which is great, right? No, I think just I think just uh you know, I’m just trying to play well, make the team, and then you know, hopefully get a start, and then if I get a start, you know, make it impossible for them to not want to put me back in there. That’s kind of what I’m focused on. I mean, that’s the tough part is like there’s only one net, you know, so I can’t be on the third line and Ellie on the second, it’s way on the fourth, you know, like it’s it’s not how it goes. So, there’s only one net all every goalie. I mean, there’s more bullies than just us three as well that are are great and deserve to get a look for this team. And I think everyone that is vying for that spot is just trying to get off to a great start, make the team, and then hopefully, you know, I get my name called and and play great when I get the chance. Is that just added motivation for the regular season, I guess, just another layer. Yeah, for sure. I think I mean you always are trying to play great but when I mean like the coolest possible hockey experience ever is you know on the horizon it’s hard not to to look at that and you know want to do even more and and be at your best even more than you already normally do as a competitor. So you know just the fact that you know I’m even like in that conversation is is you know pretty surreal. So hopefully you can play great and get a spot on that team. What have you seen from Mico in the time you saw him as far as leadership and work ethic and all that? Yeah, I mean like he from the time he came here like felt like he’d been on our team for a long time. Like he just has the presence about him. I mean obviously he’s huge. So he you’re kind of scared when you’re walking around him. Like he’s just a big presence. Like but I think and part of the reason that he’s such a big part of that ABS team is just his personality and like he he’s not a guy that you know goes on his own and kind of hides in a corner like he’s in the mix with the guys. I mean, he wants to, you know, hang out outside the rank. He wants to be a part of all that extra stuff, which, I mean, that’s what we need on this team is, you know, guys that, you know, want to do like the extra stuff away from the rank, get the group together, I think the teams that win are the ones that are like so close and a lot of that bonding is done away from the the ring. So, to have a guy like that, especially he’s not American or Canadian, so it’s even more of a hurdle, but the fact that he, you know, puts an emphasis on that is is what we’d like to see. I thought you made such an impact in a short time last year. Just knowing he’s here and going to be here for a while. How much difference does that make? Yeah, it’s great. I think that just is part of the reason that he’s so invested. I think, you know, he knows that this is, you know, home for him now and and, you know, he’s already won it all. So, he wants to do that again here with this group. So, as a guy that’s, you know, been there, done that, it’s, you know, we we look to him to, you know, you know, what do you see? What do we need to do? What are what are we not doing that, you know, Colorado did when they won? So to have a guy like that that’s been there, done that is great for all of us and you know definitely going to be leaning on him. I know you said before that you’d play every game if you could more or less but what did you learn last season from the compressed schedule for everything about recovery and being at your best that you this year similar to Yeah, totally. I think um you know it’s it’s crazy how like important that is. I mean, I think, you know, like I said earlier with, you know, having Case like a guy that’s as good as he is. You know, there’s times where in my career, I felt like I’ve played where I probably shouldn’t have played. And just um now we don’t have to do that. You know, the luxury of having two guys that can give you great games any night is I mean, for me, it’s like a dream. you know what I mean? Um, so I can just focus on like, you know, what I need to do to feel my best and I know that I’m not going to be getting killed and and you know, I think just with the training staff we have now. I mean, Mike Donahghue, one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the in the entire world, I think. And, you know, what he has us doing on a daily basis, knowing when to, you know, hit the gas and knowing when we need to just chill is such a big part of it. And I think it’s like a collective group that makes those decisions. And as a player, like when you have people that are looking out for you like long term and want you to be fresh, that’s what you want instead of just, you know, go go go and then by the end of the season, you’re like burnt out. So, you know, we’re trying to win the Stanley Cup here and, you know, we need to be fresh in order to do that. And they’re all bought into kind of that process. Was your summer different at all knowing the schedule’s coming up were pretty similar to last? Yeah, it was. I mean, compared to the summer I had before, it felt like I had like two summers cuz I didn’t get married and go on honeymoon. So, I like actually got to, you know, be home and like felt like I was just, you know, when you’re in our kind of role, like when you look at your schedule in the summer and you have like three weeks in a row where you’re not committed to anything, it’s like you like tear up. You’re so happy. So, I had a lot of that this summer and just a lot of family time. Got to chill. And, you know, I feel like it’s always a good sign. Like towards the end of the summer, I was like dying to get back here. Like, I was just so excited. And that’s what you want. I mean, you don’t want to be like, “Oh, you know, I got to go start work again.” and like I was like, you know, chomping at the bit to get back here and see the guys and I think that’s when you know you kind of did it the right way in the summer. During the playoffs, Miko Renan was one of the hottest players in the NHL and just his contributions. You’ve been on this team when they’ve made it to the Western Conference Finals. What truly is the difference about a presence like that and and just what he can add to the to the club? Yeah, I think just like I mean not many guys can just be like, “All right, I’m taking this game over.” and he has that ability obviously against Colorado that game they had. But just I mean every time he has a puck it’s like the other team’s scared. I mean I’ve played against guys like that where you know McKinnon gets the puck and you’re like here we go. Like he’s like one of those guys. So to have a guy like that on your side is like I mean you just never know like when he’s just going to be like all right I’m taking this game over. And not many guys can do that. And you know still kind of like weird that he’s on our team just playing him so much and how good he is. So, you know, every time I see him, I walk into the rink, I’m like, “This is this is cool.” So, do you feel like when, you know, he’s kind of getting a hat-tick in a period, like is his success, is that contagious? And does that kind of jolt you guys into maybe reaching a new level that you couldn’t get there before? For sure. Yeah. I think like when you’re when you’re around like greatness, you want to elevate yourself. I mean, that’s like my whole career, like the best guys, the the older guys that I look up to. I mean, you’re you want to elevate yourself to that level. like, you know, if I’m walking out of here and I’m, you know, 22 years old and I look over and Jamie Ben’s still riding the bike and I got my lunch, I’m leaving the rink, I’m like, what am I doing? So, it’s like we have a lot of guys here that, you know, take pride in trying to be the best in the world at what they do and that just makes everyone around him better. He’s one of the guys that kind of leads a charge in
Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger gives his first impression of his team’s new coaching staff led by Glen Gulutzan. Plus he shares his hopes and thoughts of making the Team USA roster and competing for the starting goalie spot ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
