It's just the beginning for Jake Oettinger

Jake Oettinger is the youngest No. 1 goalie for the Stars since they moved to Texas in 1993.

That brings some real challenges.

Oettinger was in his first full season as a No. 1 goalie this year and ended up fourth in time on ice at 3,644 minutes. That was a challenge for the 24-year-old, who played three years in college and parts of two seasons in the minors.

"It was definitely a learning experience," Oettinger said. "I think I learned a lot about myself, but I had the time of my life."

Now, Oettinger has to put that knowledge to use, and learn even more. After a season in which he finished seventh in GAA at 2.37 and tied for sixth in save percentage at .919, his numbers were not near as good in the playoffs. Oettinger dropped to .895 in save percentage and posted a playoff GAA of 3.06. He was pulled three times, leading some to ask if he was overused.

Still, coach Pete DeBoer said there was shared blame in some of the playoff losses, including a 6-0 defeat at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights that ended the season.

"We put him in some tough spots," DeBoer said after the game. "We can't ask him to win that game by himself. He went to that place a lot for us through these playoffs and down the stretch - to get seeding, we had an injury to [Scott] Wedgewood. We asked an awful lot of him. I thought he had a hell of a postseason. He was our backbone all year."

Wedgewood missed six weeks late in the season with a lower body injury, and that forced Oettinger into some heavy work. He then played more minutes in the playoffs (1,077) than any other goalie. It's a burden that Oettinger said he expects, so he has to work to get himself to a level not unlike Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.

"It's a lot of games but that's what I want to be doing," Oettinger said. "I want to be a guy like Vasilevskiy, who can play 65 games, go on a long Stanley Cup run, and then reset and do it again year after year. That's the gold standard, and that's what I want to be. I think I'm on my way there."

DeBoer said he's excited about the future of Oettinger. The coach, who was in his first year in Dallas, said he was impressed by the attitude of the young goalie at the exit interviews.

"I had my exit meeting with Jake Oettinger. It's his first year starting. It's his first year winning a playoff series, and he did it in Minnesota against his hometown team under some heavy pressure. It was the first time he's won a Game 7 to help us move into the next round, which he did against Seattle," DeBoer said. "This guy is hungry. He wants to be the best. He wants to be the best in the world, he wants to win a Stanley Cup. That's all he talks about. That's music to a coach's ear. What do you want me to do, what do you want me to work on. That's his mindset. That's fantastic."

Oettinger does not shy away from expectations. He's 6-5, 220 and was a first-round draft pick (26th overall in 2017). He is on a good team, and that means he wants to help that team win…a lot.

"One of the most exciting things is to know you're going to have a great team," he said. "I just feel really lucky to be in this organization. I just want to be a part of this group for a long time, and I've got to play well to do it."

And by well, he means among the best in the NHL.

"I think I'm just getting started," he said. "I have so much room for growth in every area of my game. Goaltending is like, you can't perfect it, but the exciting part is you can always get better. I have a ton of work that I need to do, and I want to do, and I'm excited to do it."

That said, he is starting to understand the work-rest balance. He suffered a lower body injury early in the season and missed four starts. He said the injury nagged at him in the playoffs. Now, as he approaches the summer, he said he had to take some time off to get completely healthy.

"I'll definitely keep the pads off for a while and focus more on my golf swing than my hockey game," he said. "It's a lot of games, but it's what I want to be doing."

Asked what toll the playoffs took on him, he smiled.

"It takes everything in the tank that you have, and it takes a hell of a support system - family, friends, coaches. It's a lifetime of work to get yourself to this position," he said.

Now, he wants to fill that tank up again so that he can go after the Stanley Cup. Vegas got off to a 2-0 start in the Stanley Cup Final against Florida, and that just makes the dream seem more real for the Stars.

"When you get that close and you have a team that you feel can win the Stanley Cup, I think it just shows you how close this group is," Oettinger said. "I feel like Vegas took something from us. To be that close and to have nothing to show for it, that's what makes you hungry as an athlete."

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.