Players on Pause: Jordan Oesterle

While the NHL continues its break in play due to the ongoing developments resulting from the coronavirus, 'Players on Pause' catches up with different Coyotes players to see how they're spending their time.
Jordan Oesterle is in the midst of his second season with the Coyotes. The defenseman, a stabilizing figure of consistency on the team's blue-line, is spending quarantine with his fiancé, Ashley, at their home in Scottsdale.
"It's obviously been a little bit crazy; this is something we've never dealt with, especially our generation," he said of the experience thus far. "It's definitely put a lot of things into perspective, such as the fact that we need to take care of the things at the forefront in regard to people's health and safety rather than worry about the things that are less important at the moment."

How have you been passing the time?
"My fiancé and I, we've tried to create a new normal right now, to get into a routine where we're waking up at the same time every day, going through a similar process every day just to keep the mind going, giving yourself an agenda every day. A lot of cooking, a lot of eating, a lot of hanging outside, a lot of swimming, dog walks, I've been playing some video games with guys on the team, staying involved and communicating that way. [My fiancé and I] have been doing a lot of workouts, and that goes with the schedule we've kind of set; we've just been waking up, having our breakfast and going through our day. I felt the first week when we didn't create a schedule, we just kept looking at the clock and got a little bored, so we've tried to stick to a routine and make it as normal as you can."
Any particular TV Shows or Movies you're binge watching?
"We've watched all of the shows that have come out recently, went through "Tiger King" in about one day, that was entertaining to say the least. I've watched Season 2 of "All American", I'm into that one, she isn't necessarily. We're going to start to watch Season 3 of "Ozark" since that just came out. We're trying not to watch too much [TV], to just save it for nighttime, but obviously if you get stuck in the middle of the day and there's nothing to do, we'll throw on a show."
Any books you're reading?
"I usually read a couple books each year, but I haven't found one or started one through this quarantine right now. It's mostly been just reading up on news and things like that, but not too much in the news because it makes you go a little bit crazy, but just staying up to date on everything that's going on so that we're informed on things that we need to do. As for books, neither one of us has started one, but we may look into it."
As far as video games, have you been playing to stay entertained?
"I play "Fortnite" with some guys on the team, there's usually a group of us that are on playing, but more guys are switching over to "Call of Duty". Half the time I'm playing, I'm usually playing Fortnite with Lawson Crouse, we tend to be a pretty good duo, and Vinnie Hinostroza as well, if he's on. I try not to play too many video games or else I'll get in trouble."
What's life been like at home with more time to spend with your family?
"It's been different, I almost say to [my fiancé] that it's a glimpse into the future of retired life - a long way down the road. I don't think I ever want to be completely retired when I'm older, there's too little to do. We've been playing a lot of board games and card games. My parents are still in town [from Michigan], so we've been going on hikes with them, we'll play a lot of board and card games with them as well and spend time in the kitchen cooking. We've basically been doing everything together, so it's given me more time to spend with my fiancé and my parents. So, in terms of silver lining, it's been enjoyable to spend more quality time than I usually get to during the year."

Have there been challenges to staying in shape? What have you been doing to stay conditioned?
"I don't have many weights at my house here in Arizona, so we've been doing a lot of body weight workouts, going for runs, a lot of hikes, so it's been kind of a different style of training or working out than normal. We've been trying to make the best out of it, we've been pushing each other because there've been days where one of us doesn't want to [workout] that day, so it's good because we'll keep each other going."
Have you taken up any new cooking skills in the kitchen during this time? What have you focused on diet-wise?
"My fiancé does most of the cooking usually. I grill outside, so we've got a pretty good tandem going on in the kitchen, but she's better than I am. I'm helping and things like that, but ever since this quarantine since we're not burning as many calories as we are in the season, or even in the offseason when you're training, we've been really diligent on watching what we eat, whether it's just having salad for lunch or having lighter-carb meals, we're just being more careful about what we're putting in our bodies at this time to make sure we're staying healthy and not letting our immune system weaken."
What steps have you been taking to keep you and your family safe? Any particular message you'd like to pass along to fans?
"The biggest thing we've been doing is just trying to do our part, staying inside and keeping to ourselves, going to the grocery store once a week - if that - we try to limit it as much as possible, making sure we're keeping up on our personal hygiene with washing hands and sanitizing groceries when you bring them in, things like that, just making sure you're not allowing your immune system to weaken. The message I'd say to fans is: We're all in this together, no matter what type of position you're in, this will work by coming together as one, we just need to do our part and practice self-hygiene. The more everyone plays their part, the sooner this will all go away and we'll be able to get back to the way life used to be."

Lead Photo Credit: Richard A. Whittaker - Icon Sportswire via Getty Images // Footer Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett - Getty Images