JAKE OETTINGER TO THE OLYMPICS 🇺🇸 | Stars Goalie Talks Team USA Selection with D210SPORTS - video Dailymotion

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Jake Oettinger is headed to the Olympics 🇺🇸🥅  The Dallas Stars’ franchise goalie has been named to Team USA for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, and he talks with D210SPORTS about what the moment means, the journey to the national stage, and representing the Stars on hockey’s biggest international platform.  From clutch NHL performances to earning the call for Team USA, Oettinger’s rise continues. Don’t miss his reaction, insight, and what this Olympic opportunity means for Dallas and for USA Hockey.  🔔 Subscribe for more Dallas Stars & Team USA coverage 👍 Like & share if you’re backing Oetter and Team USA

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00:00Savannah Kumoller here with STARS goaltender Jake Ottinger who will represent Team USA in the

00:09upcoming 2026 Winter Games. Jake are you so excited to represent the United States? Yeah I'm

00:16super excited. Obviously never done it on this stage before and I mean the Olympics is as big

00:22as it gets so just excited to get over there and get with all the guys and kind of see you know

00:27what everything's gonna be like it's gonna be awesome. When you think of the Olympics is there

00:30a moment in history that you go back to whether that be in men's hockey or is there a certain

00:36player that you always think of when it's the Olympics? Yeah I think for me I mean I've seen

00:42Miracle on Ice like a thousand times it's my favorite movie so you know when I you know had

00:48the when I got the call about making the Olympics that was like the first thing I thought of growing

00:52up watching that movie with my mom a thousand times and you know she would be very proud that

00:57I made this team so kind of that's what it brought me to and grew up watching that and you know Jim

01:03Craig and and then I think Ryan Miller for me that was kind of the my peak hockey fandom you know 2010

01:09when he was unbelievable for USA so those two moments kind of what I think of. And then speaking

01:15of family will your family be attending the games to watch you play? Yeah they're all coming I think

01:20there's like 12 or so of them so yeah I'm just super lucky to have you know family that will

01:26travel around the world to support me and they've been like that my whole whole career whole hockey

01:30career so very lucky to have that for them and hopefully I can you know get to play in front

01:36of them for Team USA would be pretty special for all of us. Now a big part of the Olympics and

01:40especially in your position is the goaltending masks. Have you started creating any mask and is there

01:47any specific patriotic you know tie to this? Yeah yeah totally I think yeah it's already done I'm

01:54pretty sure so I have a big big bald eagle on it kept it pretty simple and I collect all my masks

02:01now so I have like 15 of them and I think this one's going to be you know when it's all said and

02:06done I think this is probably going to be one of my favorites just you know can kind of go back and

02:09you know on the highlights of my career when it's over it'll be you know making the Olympics will be

02:13one of the big ones so hopefully you know there's a medal sitting along next to it and we'll see but

02:19yeah that's always a fun part of you know playing for Team USA you get to you know wear different

02:23gear make new masks then get to mix it up from your Dallas stuff so it's pretty cool. We're excited

02:28to see the mask with Team USA specifically you played with a lot of these guys last year with

02:34Four Nations it's kind of rinse and repeat the same type of teammates what do you look at as far as

02:39the depth of this team when you're assessing the other competition? Yeah I think it's pretty

02:43incredible I think I think a lot of it has to do with U.S. national program I'm not sure how many

02:49on this team are from there but I know the Four Nations there was you know 80% it felt like so

02:54just with how deep USA hockey is now how many great players are I mean I think you look at a lot of these

03:00teams and it feels like a NHL all-star roster so you know just going to come down to you know

03:06players stepping up in big moments making huge plays and I mean when you look at the teams on

03:10paper they're all stacked everyone's got you know elite skill great D great goaltending so it's just

03:15going to come down to little things and yeah just to to be a part of that group's really special.

03:21Does that give you a lot of confidence in the net having the depth that this team does?

03:25Yeah for sure I think yeah I mean you look at the guys in front of you I mean these are the best

03:30players in the world so I should make my job pretty easy just gotta you know do my job make a few

03:35big saves and yeah just try to do it I can help this team win but yeah when you have you know

03:40NHL all-star defenseman in front of you that it makes your life pretty easy. Is there already a

03:45Team USA group chat going? There's not no nothing nothing too crazy yet so I'm sure that'll come in

03:51the next few weeks I think we have like a call with everyone to kind of just lay the land a little

03:55bit and but a lot of guys know each other texted a few guys right when we all found out and stuff so

04:00happy to be playing with a lot of these guys and you know it's a once in a lifetime

04:03opportunity so to to get to play with you know guys I played with in college or guys I've been

04:08friends with for a long time is really special too. Now let's talk about Italy have you ever been

04:12before? I have I did my honeymoon uh in the Amalfi coast so never never northern Italy and um I know

04:18that uh you know Italy is a place where I feel like you could spend like six months and feel like you

04:22still haven't hit it all so I'm happy to be going back to to Italy and get to check out a new part of

04:27the country. Okay if you have to pick one Italian dish that you have to have while you're over there

04:32what's it going to be? I love like all Italian food I'd say my favorite is probably like chicken

04:36parm or like spicy rigatoni I don't think that's very like authentic Italian I think that's more

04:43like American Italian I found that out when I went over there was a lot more simple than the Italian

04:49we have here so I'm excited to try some of the local stuff and uh hopefully we can get out and

04:55explore Milan a little bit too. Now the Olympics obviously brings so many different sports and

05:00other athletes are you looking forward to watching any other sports or athletes that you're looking

05:04forward to either meeting or watching? Yeah totally I mean I really I would love to go to some of the

05:09women's hockey games um I know Team USA women is awesome and you know their rivalry with Canada and

05:16stuff is is really incredible to watch and then yeah just I feel like there's probably you know

05:2110 sports that I've never even seen before that I want to just go check out I mean I've

05:26I would love to see figure skating speed skating um hopefully we can get a day to go up in the

05:31mountains and see some of the stuff up there skiing snowboarding that stuff so yeah I'm going to try

05:36to be you know a fan as much as I can and and take it all in and enjoy every every part of it and

05:41hopefully I can get out and see as many sports as I can. Now last year when I talked to you after

05:46Four Nations you said that it really helped you staying in the rhythm of things for the season

05:51how is it as far as the preparation goes that you're still continuing going on and you don't

05:57have that break does that help you still going into the season? Yeah for sure I think yeah like

06:01I mean there's benefits to both I think getting away and putting the pads away for a while is nice

06:06but I also think you know when you stay in it and you know you get to play you know basically game

06:11seven playoff games in in February that's that helps you a lot too so I think for me it'll be

06:16nice to just you know stay in the rhythm and also get to you know work on my game against the best

06:20players in the world whether you know in the games or practices like I remember my first practice at

06:25Four Nations I got off the ice and I was like I've never practiced like that before like that was the

06:30most intense fastest skilled most skilled practice I've ever been a part of so you know if I can uh you

06:37know do well in those practices then when I get back to NHL I feel like it'll be you know feel like a lot

06:42slower than you know when you get to practice against elite elite guys like that so it's uh

06:46it'll be good for me to stay in the rhythm. Now you and some of your current teammates here are heading

06:51out to the opening ceremonies tell me a little bit about that. Yeah I think it just for me like it was

06:57uh you know when the opportunity presented itself like it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and

07:03you know to be to have the opportunity to walk I don't think you know a lot of the NHL guys aren't

07:08going to be able to just with schedules and stuff and with the way our our schedule is we have that

07:12extra day to get over there early so I thought you know I talked to my wife and she was like yeah you

07:17have to go like there's no why would you not so yeah a few of us are going to get to go and and do

07:21that and um you know feel like real Olympians when you get to do stuff like that. Well Jake we're super

07:26excited to watch you in the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics and that's a wrap here from the American

07:33Airline Center. Jake will be heading out to Milan, Italy in just a few short weeks for the Winter Games.

JAKE OETTINGER TO THE OLYMPICS 🇺🇸 | Stars Goalie Talks Team USA Selection with D210SPORTS

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