It may seem like a million miles away, but the 2026 Winter Olympics are right around the corner, and the Dallas Stars won’t be short of representatives as the games get underway in February.
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As announced on Aug. 19, Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger are the latest members of the Stars to be invited to their home country’s orientation camps, this time for Team USA.
The final rosters will be announced in January.
Jake Oettinger an Automatic Selection in Net
After backing up Connor Hellebuyck at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February, I think most of us would be rightly surprised if Oettinger is not on Team USA at the Olympics in some capacity. It’s fair to pencil in Hellebuyck as the starter, maybe even pen, but based on the seasons Oettinger consistently puts together, it’s fair to assume he’ll be on the roster once again, even if it is at the backup position. That being said, as much of a long shot as it might seem, starting for this team is not out of the question for Oettinger.
Oettinger and Hellebuyck will be joined at the orientation camp by Joey Daccord and Jeremy Swayman.
As a starter in international play, dating back to the Under-17 tournament in 2014, Oettinger is 11-2-0, with a 1.75 goals-against average (GAA) and a .931 save percentage (SV%).
For the Stars last season, Oettinger was 36-18-4, with a 2.59 GAA and a .909 SV%.
Robertson Has Chance at Redemption With Camp Invitation
The NHL is loaded with talented players from the United States, and with that, there are going to be players left off of the international roster that will cause some, or a lot, of debate. That was certainly the case for Robertson last season when he was left off of the 4 Nations Face-Off roster.
“I had a slow start to the year,” Robertson said back in January 2025. “The first half (of the season) wasn’t good enough. Regardless of what you did (in your career), it’s what you did recently. I had an idea. When I didn’t make the team, the weight was off my shoulders as far as not having to think about it anymore. It was somewhat of a distraction. Obviously, I would love to play for the team. It would have been a great honor. But it definitely felt like I could put it aside and turn the page and focus on our team game without having to think about whether my play was good enough.”
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Well, after the calendar turned to 2025, his play was more than good enough. After having only nine goals and 28 points in 36 games to start the season, Robertson had 26 goals and 52 points in his next 46 games and finished with 35 goals and 80 points.
In the quote above, Robertson mentioned how it was about what he did recently, not the entirety of his career. To me, he may be correct, but I also think he was trying to say the right thing. In his last four seasons (320 games), Robertson has 151 goals and 348 points. Sure, at the time of the 4 Nations selections, those numbers were less. Regardless, he is more than worthy of at least an invitation to camp, if not a full-on invitation to the Olympics.
Between the World Juniors in 2019 and the World Championships in 2021, Robertson has five goals and 16 points in 17 games wearing the red, white, and blue.
