Dallas is a true Cup contender,
and the Lakeville native is a big
reason why. He has developed into
one of the best goaltenders in the
NHL, which is why he was on the 4
Nations Face-Off roster in February and should be an Olympian next
year in Milan, Italy.
Oettinger is big, smooth in net and quiet. He's so positionally
sound that he doesn't have to make the acrobatic saves be-
cause he's often in perfect position. The Stars are a deep
team, but if they're going to go where they want to, it'll be
because of Oettinger.
Oettinger's pal, also
from Lakeville, Lindgren
has made up quite the tandem in Washington with Logan Thompson. It's a big reason why the Caps
have been one of the biggest surprises in the NHL and why the Caps would actually like to re-sign
both of them.
Catches with his right hand, Lindgren can make some unbelievable saves and cover up when Washington gets a little greedy on the rush
and give up breakaways, two-on-ones and three-on-twos. He also has the coolest stache in the NHL.
Nick Bjugstad
Bobby Brink
Cole Koepke
Blake Lizotte
K'Andre Miller
Tommy Novak
Ryan Poehling
Cole Smith
HONORABLE
MENTIONS
FORWARDS
Russo's Rants
Photo / Getty Images
P R E S E N T E D B Y
Justin Faulk
Ryan Lindgren
Nick Perbix
Dylan Samberg
Nate Schmidt
Nick Seeler
Alex Lyon
DEFENSE
30
M H J ON L I N E . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 5
Michael Russo
writes for The Athletic.
This is his 20th season cov-
ering the Wild and 30th cover-
ing the National Hockey League
after previously covering the Florida
Panthers. He co-hosts the Worst Seats
in the House podcast on talknorth.com and
anywhere you get your podcasts. Russo can
be heard weekly on KFAN (100.3-FM) and seen
throughout the hockey season on NHL Network.
Follow Russo on X and Instagram at @RussoHockey
and Facebook at /michaelrussohockey. To subscribe to The
Athletic, go to nytimes.com/athletic/author/michael-russo/
and click any article for a discount.
GOALIES
JAKE
OETTINGER
CHARLIE
LINDGREN
GOALIE
Jake
Oettinger
K'Andre
Miller
