Stars trade up to select Jake Oettinger 26th overall

The Dallas Stars traded the 29th overall selection and the 70th pick in the draft to the Chicago Blackhawks for the 26th pick, which it used to select goaltender Jake Oettinger on Friday night.

Jake Oettinger

Position: Goalie
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 205 lbs
Age: 18
Club: Boston University
Nationality: American

Oettinger was the top North American goalie on NHL Central Scouting's final rankings, and deservedly so.

The 18-year-old impressed in his freshman campaign with the Terriers after spending two seasons in the U.S. national team development program.

Whether he ends up being the best goalie in the 2017 class will be interesting to see, as International Scouting Services ranked Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen the top netminding prospect in this draft over Oettinger, but the latter certainly has the tools to justify a relatively early selection.

Oettinger started playing as a blue-liner until switching positions at age 10, and he still brings that puck-moving approach to the crease.

"I definitely have a feel for what it's like to be a defenseman and have the goalie play the puck to you," he told NHL.com's Adam Kimelman last fall. "For me nowadays, I try to get the puck off my stick as quickly as I can and let the defenseman break the puck out. ... It's their job to get the puck out of the zone. I've just got to stop the puck."