Article: There's A Lot Riding On Jesper Wallstedt's Bounceback Season

[Tony Abbott]

View full article

[Pewterschmidt]

Wall-E's season's success/failure is the biggest Wild wildcard no one is talking about.

[Citizen Strife]

Gus earned the benefit of the doubt after a terrific rebound last season.  Wallstedt has to prove he can play in front of a capable defensive corps, or be damned.  Goalies are volatile yes, but Gus is playing for $6-8m.  He's gonna get it unless both he and Wallstedt shit the bed.  Of the two, I'm riding the Gus Bus until Wall proves otherwise.

[Scalptrash]

Does anyone feel really good about Wallstedt? I certainly don't. He either isn't that good or kind of a head case. If he is going to make it in the NHL, he should be dominating in the AHL. I'm not that impressed by a .908 and .910 save percentage in the AHL, even when he was playing well. He's been touted for years that he was essentially the second coming and I'm just not seeing it. Look out for Jiricek too.

[MNCountryLife]

Good article.  Brodin, Spurge, Faber and Mids do a very good job at keeping the shots to the outside.  But with no Brodin out and possible newcomers Jiricek, Lambos and Buium we may not be as nice to goalies as we have been the last few years.  This could affect both Wall and Gus.  

Edited 17 hours ago by MNCountryLife

[Kato AK]

I think Wallstedt himself has admitted that he has struggled with confidence/the mental side of the game the last couple seasons, but he have to remember the goalies tend to take longer to develop and he is only 22. 

I would like to see Sam Hlavaj get a game or 2 with the big club. He has been playing as good or better than Jesper in the AHL and his play in international games for Slovakia is pretty damn impressive. The org may not need to put as much pressure on Jesper when there are other options.

[SkolWild73]

Here is a nice article about Wallstedt where he talks about his confidence and next season.

Wild’s Jesper Wallstedt hoping to put difficult season behind him

[Pewterschmidt]

2 hours ago, Scalptrash said:

Look out for Jiricek too.

I Jiri looks like Midsy light next year it'll be a monumental clang off the upright for Guerin (and Brackett), considering the Fletcherian draft haul he gave up.  Mainly Guerin b/c he's the one who had a stiffy for Jiri. And at his age it's time for Jiri to start showing REAL potential.  Nevermind the bigger guys need more time blather...not when you forfeit a couple drafts to get the guy. Remember when we made fun of Fenton for his idiotic moves??  Pepperidge Farm remembers.

[Pewterschmidt]

20 minutes ago, Kato AK said:

admitted that he has struggled with confidence/the mental side of the game the last couple seasons

The optimist in me is assuming Wall-E learned and grew a ton in the mental discipline department and the Wild will be the beneficiary....not the 3rd team he's playing for when he's 28 and it finally clicks for him.

#Dubnyk

[Pewterschmidt]

23 minutes ago, Kato AK said:

Hlavaj

Everyone likes vaj

[TCMooch]

14 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I Jiri looks like Midsy light next year it'll be a monumental clang off the upright for Guerin (and Brackett), considering the Fletcherian draft haul he gave up.  Mainly Guerin b/c he's the one who had a stiffy for Jiri. And at his age it's time for Jiri to start showing REAL potential.  Nevermind the bigger guys need more time blather...not when you forfeit a couple drafts to get the guy. Remember when we made fun of Fenton for his idiotic moves??  Pepperidge Farm remembers.

Get ready to hear the clank because Jiricek is looking like his ceiling is 5th/6th defender on 3rd pairing. I don’t believe he’s going to be capable or successful as a top 4 defender 

[SkolWild73]

2 minutes ago, TCMooch said:

Get ready to hear the clank because Jiricek is looking like his ceiling is 5th/6th defender on 3rd pairing. I don’t believe he’s going to be capable or successful as a top 4 defender 

What have you seen that makes you think this?  He is still only 21 years old, and we only saw him in 6 games last year.  I look at a guy like Harley from Dallas.  He played in the A at 19, split time at 20, played 66 games in the A at 21 before finally breaking out in 2023/24 at the age of 22.  Pretty much same thing Jiricek has done in his career so far.  I am not expecting the same type of breakout year that Harley had for Jiricek this year (15G, 32A and a +28), but not ready to say his ceiling is 5th/6th defender yet.

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, TCMooch said:

Get ready to hear the clank because Jiricek is looking like his ceiling is 5th/6th defender on 3rd pairing. I don’t believe he’s going to be capable or successful as a top 4 defender 

We got Midsy for an old mouth guard, so Jiri needs to be a stud, SOON.

Good news is that Wild fans no longer have to hear about the prospect pool cavalry that's on it's way sometime in the future.  Future is now party people.  Ogz, Zeev, Yurov, Jiri and Wall-E all need to perform as every night NHL'rs when this season begins.  Ogz, Wall-E and Jiri got nice long on-ramps.  Yurzy and Zeevy need to be ready on night one.  Gonna be fun to watch!!

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, SkolWild73 said:

but not ready to say his ceiling is 5th/6th defender yet.

I assume this is based on Benjamin Buttons shit talking Jiri.  While he may be dead wrong it would have been much easier for Buttons to gloss Jiri, so it's a little concerning he brought all the smoke and trashed him as a bottom 4 D-man ceiling. 

[SkolWild73]

8 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I assume this is based on Benjamin Buttons shit talking Jiri.  While he may be dead wrong it would have been much easier for Buttons to gloss Jiri, so it's a little concerning he brought all the smoke and trashed him as a bottom 4 D-man ceiling. 

No, it was in response to TCMooch stating his ceiling is a 5th or 6th defenseman.  

[Burnt Toast]

1 hour ago, SkolWild73 said:

response

Pewter > Skol> TCM>Benny B (probably). 

[Outskated]

The blame for Wally's bad year falls solely on BG's shoulders.  Flouting a 3-goalie rotation and telling him to get an apartment were egregious errors.  It totally messed with his head and made everything a disaster.  Goalies are already headcases, so this was just a stupid move especially when we had almost no cap space to start the season.  This year, BG is leaving money available in case he has to go trade for a goalie if Wally struggles.

[TCMooch]

My reasoning is I don’t think he is good enough defensively to be trusted. I also think The only reason people think hell me something is because he was drafted high and are hoping against hope he’s films play like a top 10 drafted player instead of basically the bust I think he will be.

 Hoping I’m wrong!

[SkolWild73]

38 minutes ago, TCMooch said:

My reasoning is I don’t think he is good enough defensively to be trusted. I also think The only reason people think hell me something is because he was drafted high and are hoping against hope he’s films play like a top 10 drafted player instead of basically the bust I think he will be.

 Hoping I’m wrong!

He may not end of being good enough defensively, but I will give him some time to see.  Still plenty young for a dman and did not look all that out of place last year when he was up, albeit a very limited amount of time.

[1Brotherbill]

5 hours ago, TCMooch said:

Get ready to hear the clank because Jiricek is looking like his ceiling is 5th/6th defender on 3rd pairing. I don’t believe he’s going to be capable or successful as a top 4 defender 

Well on this team right now he will be on the 3rd pairing to start with.  Spurgeon, Brodin, Faber, Middleton that would make up your top two pairings.  Buium and Jiricek on the 3rd pair.  Maybe spread the new kids out but reality is he is a 3rd pairing right now.  As far as his offensive skill he is top pair on this team.  Spurgeon is not a scorer.  Brodin is average with Faber.  Middleton we don't know and probably never will.  Buium has shown he can score.  So the two kids are going to be the offensive defenseman on this team. 

[1Brotherbill]

Wallstedt is going to be fine.  As long as he gets time on a set schedule.  Every third or fourth game.  This tendency to ride a hot goalie until the wheels fall off will not be a good thing for a rookie.  Having a young goalie come in to save the day when the number one is broken is a recipe for disaster.  I know others have taken the starting position and run with it but those are rare compared to the number of goalies that have been tossed into the shark infested waters and lost there game. 

[Burnt Toast]

49 minutes ago, 1Brotherbill said:

Wallstedt is going to be fine

I think so too. I base my opinion on his family. He grew up surrounded by professional goalies. I’ve read things he’s said, he’s aware of where he’s at and what areas need to improve. I’m really excited about the season coming up, not just to see JW, but all the new players. 

[Fezig]

I'm not concerned about Wally. He was consistently ranked as a top goalie prospect throughout the league. Scouts must have seen something with his ability to continually rank him that high. He'll have a much better defense in front of him this year and he'll be able to gain confidence. 

Besides, you can't have a bounce back season unless you have something to bounce back from.