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first round in 2017, never played on any big travel teams as a youngster and "when I was 13 you probably wouldn't have thought this kid maybe could play college even." But w ith the nationa l tea m, he worked w ith goa lie coach Kev in Reiter. "He was the one that really believed in me and picked me out of nowhere as a young kid who could play with some potential," Oettinger said. "And if it wasn't for that, I don't think I'd be where I am right now. There's so many guys that have helped me along the way and obviously my family, first and foremost." In general, Oettinger thinks there will be more American goal- ies coming up the pipeline. Through mid-February, 19 American goalies played an NHL game with Oettinger and Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck, who is from Michigan, having huge seasons. Oettinger was 23-7-9 for the division-leading Stars with a 2.20 goals-against average and .926 save percentage, while Hellebuyck, who won the Vezina Trophy in 2020, was 26-16-1 with a 2.39 goals-against average and .926 save percentage. "And I think between me and Spencer (Knight) and Joe Woll and Jeremy Swayman, that's three 98s and a (2001)," Oettinger said. "That's pretty impressive, and hopefully the goal is obviously to continue that…So hopefully we can take over for goalies in NHL." WINNING WAYS Oettinger was able to spend the holiday break in December with his family in Minnesota, and then they were able to watch him make 23 saves in a 4-1 win over his home state Wild. Heading into the game, Oettinger said, "I think I'd be lying if I didn't say this is probably the game I want to win the most in the whole season. But you can't let that take away from just playing the game like I always do. And obvi- ously that's a lot easier said than done, it's human nature. You want to play well in front of your family and your friends. So it's pretty cool that I get to play here in the NHL in front of them and hopefully I can do it for a long time." With a win two days later on New Year's Eve, Oettinger earned his 40th regular-season victory of 2022—the most among all NHL goaltenders—and became the fifth netminder in NHL history to record as many wins in a calendar year before age 25, joining Terry Sawchuk (44 in 1951 with Detroit), Jonathan Quick (40 in 2009 with Los Angeles), Mike Liut (40 in 1980 with St. Louis) and Roger Crozier (40 in 1965 with Detroit). In his 100th career NHL game on Dec. 19, 2022, Oettinger improved to 54-27-11 (2.44 GA A, .915 SV% and 4 shutouts) with a 27-save performance in Dallas' 2-1 victory over Columbus. Only one goaltender in franchise his- tory recorded more wins in their first 100 games as a member of 31 Photos / Getty Images, Boston University Athletics, Oettinger Family P R E S E N T E D B Y Forty friends and family members came to Xcel Energy Center on Dec. 29 to see Oettinger and the Stars take on the Wild. Before turning pro, Oettinger played three seasons at Boston University to continue his development. M A R C H 2 0 2 3 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M