Jake Oettinger

Jakob Donald Oettinger ( ; born December 18, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played college ice hockey for Boston University. After being part of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, he was widely considered as a top prospect for the 2017 NHL entry draft, and was ultimately selected by the Stars in the first round, 26th overall, of the 2017 draft.

Early life Oettinger was born on December 18, 1998, in Lakeville, Minnesota, to Kateri and Chris Oettinger. Growing up, Oettinger looked up to Henrik Lundqvist, who inspired him to play goalie. He attended Lakeville North High School, where he "accelerated his academics", graduating from high school in little over two years. He enrolled in the Boston University College of Communication. Oettinger played two seasons with the USNTDP Juniors while committing to Boston University. He was drafted in the first round, 26th overall, of the 2017 NHL entry draft by the Dallas Stars.

Collegiate During his freshman season at Boston University, Oettinger posted a 2.11 goals-against average and .927 save-percentage. During that season, Oettinger was named Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for the month of October, was a two-time Hockey East Rookie of the Week, a two-time Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week and was named Hockey East Top Performer four times. Thus, he was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team and Hockey East Second Team All-Star at the end of the year. Prior to the 2018–19 season, Oettinger was named an alternate captain for the Terriers, along with Chad Krys.

Professional On March 25, 2019, Oettinger signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars and was assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Texas Stars, on an amateur tryout contract. Upon joining the Texas Stars, Oettinger recorded a .897 save percentage and a 3.34 goals-against average in his first eight games. On March 3, 2020, he earned his first NHL call up as Ben Bishop dealt with a lower-body injury. He served as Anton Khudobin's backup during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. On September 8, he made his NHL debut in relief of Khudobin in the third period of the second game of the Western Conference finals against the Vegas Golden Knights. With Bishop remaining unavailable during the following 2020–21 season, Oettinger became the Stars' backup goaltender to Khudobin, making his regular season debut on January 28, 2021, in a 7–3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Over the course of the season he made 24 starts and appeared in relief a further five times, gradually edging ahead of Khudobin as the team's starting goaltender. He finished with a .911 save perentage.

Oettinger began the 2021–22 season playing in the AHL, appearing in 10 games with a 4–5–2 record. However, he was soon called up to play in the NHL again, with injuries plaguing the team's other goaltenders. He became the starter on arrival, and earned a 30–15–1 record with a .914 save percentage in the regular season, credited as a key factor in the Stars qualifying for the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Stars earned the final wild card berth and drew the Calgary Flames in the first round, a matchup where they were considered underdogs. However, the series proved far more competitive than expected, a fact that was widely attributed to Oettinger, who was dubbed "bar none, the first star of the first round" by The Hockey News. Oettinger led all goaltenders in the first round with a .954 save percentage, also the second-highest in the history of the Stars, behind only Ed Belfour during the 1998 conference semifinals. The climax came in game seven, where the Stars took the game to overtime despite the Flames making twice as many shots and attempts as the Stars, with Oettinger recording 64 saves, the second-highest in a game 7 behind only Kelly Hrudey's 73 during the 1987 Easter Epic.

Oettinger pushes Yanni Gourde of the Seattle Kraken during the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. On September 1, 2022, Oettinger signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Stars. He began the 2022–23 season impressively, with a 5–1–0 record and a .960 save percentage over those games, before exiting an October 29 game against the New York Rangers with an unspecified lower-body injury. He returned to the Stars' active roster two weeks later. He finished that season with a 37–11–11 record and .919 save percentage. He posted his second career shutout during the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs in game five against the Minnesota Wild. The team went on to beat them in game six, moving onto the second round with a 4–1 victory. The Stars advanced to the conference finals after beating the Seattle Kraken in a seven-game series. Their season came to end after losing in a six game series against the Vegas Golden Knights. Oettinger finished that playoffs with a 10–9–0 record.895 save percentage and a goals-against average of 3.06. Following the team's playoff exit, Oettinger required off-season surgery on his ankle.

Oettinger struggled early on in the 2023–24 season, however, he went 35–14–4 that season and finished with a .905 save percentage and 2.72 goals-against average. He represented the team at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game. After losing game one to the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, he had gone 8–4 and recorded a save percentage above .940. The team beat the Colorado Avalanche in six games, as Oettinger stopped 30 of 31 shots, helping the team advance to the conference finals.

Oettinger earned his first shutout in the 2024–25 season, during the Stars' home opener against the New York Islanders, winning the game 3–0. On October 17, 2024, he signed an eight-year, $66 million contract extension. He was also selected as one of the United States' goaltenders for the 4 Nations Face-Off. He played one game in the tournament, which resulted in a 2–1 loss against Sweden. He recorded a .913 save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.06. The Stars faced the Avalanche in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, beating the team in seven games. They then played against the Winnipeg Jets in the following round, winning the series in six games. Through two rounds, he recorded a .918 save percentage. Oettinger was pulled in game five against the Edmonton Oilers of the conference finals after giving up two goals on two shots, as the team went on to the lose the series.

International play

On January 2, 2026, he was named to the United States roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Amid backlash faced by the men's Olympic hockey team regarding the inclusion of FBI director Kash Patel during their gold medal celebrations and members of the team laughing at President Trump's comments of being impeached if he did not invite the women's team to the White House, the players were invited to the White House and the State of the Union. Oettinger did not attend the State of the Union or participate in the White House visit. Oettinger attributed his absence to having been away from his then three-month-old baby while the team spent a month in Italy for the Olympics and to wanting to prepare to play again; despite winning a gold medal with the team, he was the backup to Connor Hellebuyck and did not play in any games during the tournament.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2013–14 Lakeville North High SSC 9 7 2 1 465 17 2 1.86 .931 5 4 1 262 13 1 2.53 .886 2014–15 U.S. National Development Team USHL 20 5 10 0 1,058 57 1 3.23 .907 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 U.S. National Development Team USHL 15 11 3 0 858 32 1 2.24 .919 — — — — — — — — 2016–17 Boston University HE 35 21 11 3 2,131 75 4 2.11 .927 — — — — — — — — 2017–18 Boston University HE 38 21 13 4 2,325 95 5 2.45 .915 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 Boston University HE 36 16 16 4 2,110 86 4 2.45 .926 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 Texas Stars AHL 6 3 2 1 364 15 0 2.47 .895 — — — — — — — — 2019–20 Texas Stars AHL 38 15 16 4 2,104 90 3 2.57 .917 — — — — — — — — 2019–20 Dallas Stars NHL — — — — — — — — — 2 0 0 37 0 0 0.00 1.000 2020–21 Dallas Stars NHL 29 11 8 7 1,605 63 1 2.36 .911 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 Dallas Stars NHL 48 30 15 1 2,708 114 1 2.53 .914 7 3 4 430 13 1 1.81 .954 2022–23 Dallas Stars NHL 62 37 11 11 3,645 144 5 2.37 .919 19 10 9 1,078 55 1 3.06 .895 2023–24 Dallas Stars NHL 54 35 14 4 3,085 140 3 2.72 .905 19 10 9 1,207 45 0 2.24 .913 2024–25 Dallas Stars NHL 58 36 18 4 3,410 147 2 2.59 .909 18 9 8 1,021 48 0 2.82 .905 2025–26 Dallas Stars NHL 54 35 12 6 3,194 138 4 2.59 .899 6 2 4 403 19 0 2.83 .893NHL totals 305 184 78 33 17,645 746 16 2.54 .912 71 34 34 4,176 180 2 2.59 .911

International

Awards and honors Award Year RefCollege All-Hockey East Rookie Team 2017