Behind the scenes of Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger’s training & routines

Goaltenders are built different. And Dallas Stars netminder Jake Oettinger certainly fits that mold.

While all professional athletes go well outside the norms to find a competitive advantage, goalies have to prepare for two types of games; the one on the ice or field and the one between the ears. The mental side of the position is just as important, if not more, than the physical.

To get a look into all that goes into being an elite NHL goalie, I asked Oettinger about his routines, training, and more.

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On a game day, Oettinger’s routines start with an 8 am wakeup and breakfast at the rink. Before getting his gear on, he goes through a full-body slow build warm-up.

Oettinger and Casey DeSmith are usually the first players on the ice at morning skate. Both go out 15-20 minutes early with goalie coach Jeff Reese — who has already been on the ice or bench well before that.

After Oettinger gives his hair and himself a full spray down with a water bottle — he told me his hair is super long right now, so he uses the water to mat it down under his mask and also sprays water on himself to soften up his gear — it’s time for some goalie drills.

Reese takes the goalies through the same routine nearly every day: rimming pucks behind the net to work on cutoffs and breakout passes — Oettinger said this is really the only time he gets to practice puck handling –, light shots in tight to work on push offs and movement, and then shots from different spots using some of the first skaters on the ice — these have ranged from Jason Robertson to Brendan Smith.

“My main thing for that is seeing shots far away or see shots that make me feel confident and good,” Oettinger said. “We’ve done that for a while. It’s all about just tracking pucks, seeing shots from far away, seeing shots from bad angles, those are the shots that should never go in. So that’s the time I like to work on those and just feel good.”

Per Pete DeBoer:

– Jake Oettinger starts
– Brendan Smith in, Nils Lundkvist out and remains day to day with a lower-body injury. He is skating today at the optional morning skate. pic.twitter.com/65OgZYHkUz

— Sam Nestler (@samnestler) November 23, 2024

Oettinger also said he really enjoys the way Dallas runs its morning skate.

The team usually goes through variations of passing drills that lead to long shots, 2-on-1’s, and other situations that allow goalies to see a lot of rubber from spots that help them feel confident. Outside of that, it is mostly power-play work and individual skills.

Being a former goalie in both hockey and lacrosse, I can confirm that feeling confident is by far the most important part of any warm-up.

After morning skate, Oettinger gets a quick massage from team massage therapist Daniel “DJ” Almonte and heads home.

Like all hockey players, Oettinger has a game day nap — usually from 1-3 pm. He follows that up with some sun exposure and a dip in the cold outdoor pool to wake up his body and mind. Then comes the pregame meal — which he said his wife has perfected — consisting of chicken, broccoli, rice, and pasta, plus a coffee on the way to the rink.

This is where things really get interesting. Not funky — he actually said he wished he could give me some crazy ritual or superstition to write about, but he doesn’t have any — but still really interesting.

At the rink, Oettinger likes to go through several steps to get warmed up. For a 7 pm game, his routine starts around 5:30 after team meetings.

First, he does a full hand-eye warm up with Stars strength and conditioning coach Mike Donoghue.

“We start with… he just use his fingers, he’ll hold one close to my nose and one far out, and that’s just tracking, trying to simulate tracking the puck in and out,” he said. “He’s taking his finger and going out and around in a big circle, and I’m just tracking that, just trying to get my eyes warmed up.”

After that, Oettinger uses multiple tools specifically for his warm-up.

The first is a ball with numbers 1-9 on the sides. He throws that back and forth with Donoghue, calling out which numbers he sees while the ball is in the air. Oettinger called that “over exaggerated tracking” to get his eyes focused on tracking the puck.

If you have ever watched Miracle (who hasn’t?), you have seen some alteration of this next drill.

Standing behind Oettinger, who is facing a wall, Donoghue throws a ball off the wall for Oettinger to track into his gloves. Then they move to two balls in rapid succession, followed by two at the same time. Finally, they use a reaction ball to work on… you guessed it, reaction time.

“That’s kind of our fun thing we’ve come up with that has worked, and we feel good about it,” Oettinger said. “But it’s always evolving, and it’s fun too. We’re having a great time. That keeps it light and fun before the game. And we’re in the hallway where the boys go from the locker room to play soccer, so they are always trying to mess with us, it’s fun.”

You may be asking what those glasses are… well that is one of a few other cool things Oettinger uses throughout the season and summer.

“They basically take away your peripherals on the outsides of your eyes,” he said. “I like to throw that on when I’m doing the stuff to over-emphasize the tracking the puck in. You really have to follow it with your head and your eyes all the way into your gloves. I like to do that when it is getting stray or I just want to feel good…

“I also have these strobe glasses that will blink (light) so you can’t see. It starts out really fast, so it’s easier to see, and you can change it. You can also do one eye is blinking or one eye is totally solid, so you’re just tracking it in with one eye. Just different ways to warm your eyes up, test your hand eye… Your eyeballs are muscles too, so you need to warm them up just as much as your body. When I do that stuff, I feel a lot more locked in.”

I have yet to go through these drills myself with Oettinger, but I hope he lets me do that at some point (don’t worry, we will get that ridiculousness on video).

Goalies in the NHL use an array of tools for this stuff. I have heard of goalies using virtual reality headsets, video games, and plenty more to find their edge. Oettinger said he hasn’t tried these, but wants to in the future.

“I’m just trying to leave no stone unturned,” Oettinger said.

Warm-up ahead of games is very similar to morning skate. Oettinger takes shots from different spots until he feels good, then leaves the rest for DeSmith. Mix in some shenanigans with teammates and fans, of course.

Now for the game itself. If you watch Oettinger between whistles, you can see he is rarely standing still. Here is where the mental side of goaltending really comes in.

“I’m doing a ton of visualizing stuff pretty much the whole time. If you watch me between whistles, I’m simulating shots and playing stuff in front of me the whole time to feel like I’m staying in it,” he said. “I feel like if you visualize it in your head, it’s almost the same as if it actually happened.”

But Oettinger is also very aware there is such thing as doing too much, or as he called it, “overkill.” Over the years, especially since coming into the NHL, he has streamlined his routines. He felt sometimes he was doing too much and wasn’t as calm or confident as a result.

A good example of that is between periods. Rather than jumping back into some sort of drills or watching film, Oettinger likes to take intermissions to “shut off and try to chill.” He said he likes to unplug his brain and instead use that time to cool down his body, refuel, and relax.

It may seem small, but that balance of not overdoing it can be critical for any athlete. Mental exhaustion is just as real as physical.

Oettinger has become one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. He is second to only Connor Hellebuyck with 26 wins and has a career-best 2.35 goals-against average through 40 games.

We don’t know whether he will get into a game, but Oettinger is honored and excited to represent Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

5'11" vs. 6'0" pic.twitter.com/qzdzJk1l6u

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 14, 2025

Speaking with teammates and coaches, I constantly hear about Oettinger’s work ethic and professionalism.

He is one of those guys that does things the right way on and off the ice. He is also a great teammate and human and a pleasure to chat with after a practice or morning skate.

Jake Oettinger making Christmas dreams come true… pic.twitter.com/N5SiBzXjPf

— Sam Nestler (@samnestler) December 22, 2024

All of these things only make him a better pro. He’s already a pretty good one, don’t you think?