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M H J O N L I N E . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 3 32 P R E S E N T E D B Y Russo's Rants the Stars/North Stars franchise: Ed Belfour (60-21-16). "It's a really fun group of guys and it's a great locker room," Oettinger said. "We have great leadership with (Joe Pavelski, Ryan Suter, Jamie Benn). All those guys, they show us how it's done every night. And we have a great group of young guys, too." In that meeting against Minnesota, Oettinger outdueled future Hall of Famer Marc- A ndre Fleury, although the veteran goalie deser ved better. The Wild were outshot 43-24, and Fleury was tremendous, Oettinger said. Oettinger idolized Fleury as a kid, and his favorite game he has played as a pro came in Feb. 2022 in Chicago when he and Fleury each had shutouts before Oettinger won the 1-0 game against the Blackhawks in a shootout. After the 34-save per- formance, Oettinger asked for a signed stick from Fleury. This has become Oettinger's thing. When Alex Ovechkin beat him from his left circle office, Oettinger sent teammate Alex Radulov over to Washington's room to get the stick Ovechkin scored on him with. "Once he breaks the NHL goal scoring record, that'll be pretty cool to have," said Oettinger, who also has autographed sticks from Pavelski, Jonathan Quick, Braden Holtby and Andrei Vasilevskiy. "I have quite the collection." Fleury has become as big a fan of Oettinger. "He's awesome," the Wild goa lie said. "A big g uy that still moves around well. He's ca lm. He covers a lot of the net and plays well around his post. A young goa lie. I think we'll see him for many years and there w ill be lots of w ins." SAVORING THE MOMENTS In December, the day before the Stars beat the Wild, Suter set up a fun outdoor practice in St. Paul for the Stars. It got the team back to their roots of playing outdoor hockey, especially Oettinger, who had a blast. "I think everyone in here is pretty much like a 10-year-old kid any way, so we all loved it and it was a great change of pace," Oettinger said. He now hopes to continue his tremendous season and lead the Stars to something special. Who knows, maybe he could even play some playoff games against the Wild in the rink where he led Lakeville North to a state title game. "I don't know how long I'll be able to play for the NHL in front of them, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can," Oettinger said. "It's been a great year, but we're still a ton of season left and I'm just try- ing to get better every day and do my best. But it's a dream come true to be where I am right now and, obviously, when I come here it comes full circle and I really realize how special it is and how many people I have out there support me and stuff. "And if it wasn't for them and the people that believed in me when I was little, I wouldn't be here." Michael Russo writes for The Athletic. He's in his 18th season covering the Wild and 28th covering the National Hockey League. He has three podcasts: Worst Seats in the House on talknorth.com and The Athletic Hockey Show on Wednesdays and Straight From The Source for The Athletic. All three podcasts can be heard wherever you get your podcasts. Russo can be heard weekly on KFAN (100.3-FM) and seen throughout the hockey season on Bally Sports North and the NHL Network. Follow Russo on Twitter and Instagram at @ RussoHockey. To subscribe to The Athletic at a discount, go to theath- letic.com/straightfromthesource. Photo / Getty Images "He's awesome. A big guy that still moves around well. He's calm. He covers a lot of net and plays well around the post. A young goalie. I think we'll see him for many years and there will be lots of wins." –Marc Andre Fleury Oettinger robs New York Islanders captain and fellow Minnesotan Anders Lee (Edina).