Boston University goaltender Jake Oettinger was one of several non-New England natives who have ties to the region and were drafted in the opening round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft last month in Chicago.
The true freshman arrived to Boston last fall to much fanfare after graduating from the U.S. National Team Development Program and lived up to the hype with a sensational start for the Terriers, dazzling onlookers with his blend of pure size and athletic ability, along with a mature, poised approach to the position.
Not surprisingly, the product of Lakeville, Minn., was the only goaltender taken in the first round, the Dallas Stars trading up several spots to grab him at 26th overall.
"As a player, Jake is as steady and holds the edge as long as he can," said Dave Rogalski, Oettinger’s Minnesota-based goaltending coach. "He shows great patience on his feet and makes consistent reads."
Oettinger put an exclamation point on his season with a 56-save effort and overtime win against the higher-seeded and defending NCAA champion University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. He almost pushed eventual runner-up University of Minnesota-Duluth to another upset, falling 3-2 in another sudden-death contest during the NCAA regional final game.
"I couldn’t be more excited to get to Dallas and be a part of a great organization," Oettinger told media after the Stars made him their second pick of the round. "Whenever a team trades up to get you it means a lot and shows that they really want to take you, so I couldn’t be more excited and it’s an honor."
Oettinger is the modern prototype for what NHL teams are looking for: He’s huge, but agile and fluid, taking up a lot of net. He’s also able to move fast to deny quality scoring chances. He’s got tremendous dexterity in his hands and doesn’t just block pucks, but also steers shots out of danger areas. Oettinger also demonstrates impressive ability to naturally read the flow of the play and put himself in position to make the first save when shooting lanes open up. That kind of hockey sense is what often distinguishes top athletic goalies from the truly exceptional ones with the chance to become NHL superstars.
"As a person he’s incredibly competitive, but you wouldn’t know it unless you knew the kid," Rogalski said. "He has a very humble and quiet demeanor, but don’t let it fool you … he wants to win."
The sky appears to be the limit for Oettinger, who now gives the Stars an impressive long-term option in net to go with the established veteran they traded for and signed to an extension in Ben Bishop after not getting the goaltending the team needed in Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi the past several seasons.
"There’s a laundry list of things I want to get better at before I move on to the next level," Oettinger said. "But I think the biggest thing about goalies in the NHL is how tough they are mentally and that will come with a lot of experience and a lot of game time, and it’s certainly something I can learn a lot from the next couple of years at BU. I think just going back and getting more games in and getting more confidence is something that will help me."
