We are so proud of all seven Olympians who represented the Dallas Stars overseas in Italy for the Winter Olympics. The fact that six of them won medals on the biggest stage shows the vast talent the Stars have on their roster and will have for seasons to come. However, one of them didn't even get any minutes on the ice during the Winter Olympics. Jake Oettinger won the gold medal despite not playing a single minute for Team USA. Many fans were outraged that Team USA didn't even bother to play him.
While I'm sure Oettinger would have loved to play the last ten minutes of the game against Slovakia, he's back home in Texas, healthy and ready to win a Stanley Cup. At least we can say that he is 100% healthy compared to Radek Faksa and Mikko Rantanen. There's a reason Jim Nill is a three-time GM of the Year Award winner and waited until after the Olympics to make a trade. Hopefully, it doesn't come to Nil having to make a trade based on Rantanen's condition.
Meanwhile, back to Oettinger. This morning, he spoke with the media about all sorts of things, from skipping the White House event and the State of the Union Address to Women's Hockey winning the gold. I have to say Otter did a really good job with his answers and really silenced all the people who said he skipped the White House because of his political beliefs. People have to realize they have been out of the country for almost a month and are humans with lives to get back to.
Jake probably wanted to get back to his teammates for tonight's game and get back into the groove. While he's not starting, getting back into a rhythm after being overseas can be tough. I respect Oettinger for what he said to the media this morning; I'm sure he's tired of hearing all the stuff on social media about him for being associated with Team USA men's hockey. I think he wants to put all that behind him for his teammates and focus on winning the Stanley Cup this season.
I'm sure Jake will probably be starting this weekend against the Nashville Predators to shake some of the rust off of him ahead of the March 6th game against the dreaded Colorado Avalanche. I hope that Oettinger gets a big ovation for winning the gold medal tonight, even though he's not starting tonight. That's a pretty big deal, even if he didn't play a single minute. The fact that Team USA won the gold against what many considered the Canadian "Dream Team" makes winning the gold medal so much sweeter. With the Winter Olympics behind us, it's time for Oettinger to lead his team into the Stanley Cup Finals this season.