Jesper Wallstedt Is Looking Like A Top Prospect Again

On Sunday, Jesper Wallstedt played in his first NHL game this season. Last Thursday, Filip Gustavsson let in 5 goals during the Minnesota Wild’s game against the Edmonton Oilers. In the third period, John Hynes replaced him with Marc-Andre Fleury, who allowed 2 more goals. However, Fleury started Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, leading them to a 4-1 win. 

Gustavsson likely got injured during the Edmonton game, but it is unclear since he backed up Fleury against the Flyers, and the Wild didn’t call up Wallstedt until after Saturday night’s game. On Sunday morning, The Athletic reported that Gustavsson would be out for an undisclosed injury and that Minnesota would start Wallstedt. 

Wallstedt is still a rookie, but he played 3 games with the Wild last season. He let in 7 goals against the Dallas Stars in his NHL debut. However, he led Minnesota to a win against the San Jose Sharks later in the season and shut out the Chicago Blackhawks. Wallstedt also played 44 games (22-19-4) for the Iowa Wild. 

Still, Wallstedt has had a rocky start to his season this year. The 22-year-old signed a two-year extension 3 days before the season, and the Wild told him he'd have a spot on the NHL roster. However, they sent him back to Iowa due to injuries and salary cap issues. His 5-6-1 record and .874 save percentage have not made him look NHL-caliber. 

Wallstedt has been understandably frustrated at his performance this year. “It was just like I couldn’t save a puck,” he said after letting in 5 goals in 9:25 minutes against Texas. “It was like I hadn’t played hockey before. It didn’t feel like my game was wrong, but it felt like my head wasn’t there.”

The Wild scratched him from 2 Iowa games and gave him one-on-one time with their goalie coach, Freddy Chabot, to help him “reset.”

Despite his sub-.500 goalie record, Wallstedt has made some great saves this year in Iowa.

In Sunday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, it became clear why Minnesota started Wallstedt. The Wild last played Vegas in April. Fleury was in net and let in 7 goals in a 7-2 loss last season. Fleury had just played a full game the night before, so Wallstedt was a better choice. 

Ultimately, Wallstedt let in 3 goals against Vegas, leading to a 3-2 loss. However, the scoreboard often does not tell the whole story.  

Wallstedt's first goal against was 6 seconds into the Knight’s power play with 10:30 left in the first period. The shot came from Vegas winger Victor Olofsson at the point. The Knights screened Wallstedt, and Olofsson threaded the puck through two Wild players and went top shelf. 

Some goalies might’ve saved this, but it’s a high-percentage shot. The only thing Wallstedt could’ve done differently is shove the Vegas screener out of the way to get a better view. However, the play developed so fast that he might’ve missed the shot anyway.

Vegas’ second goal was equally challenging to defend. Jack Eichel was carrying the puck down the wall, so Wallstedt positioned himself on the far edge of his net. Kirill Kaprizov tried and failed to intercept Eichel’s pass across to Knights defenseman Shea Theodore. Wallstedt reacted quickly to the pass and got over, but Theodore sniped the top left corner of the net after receiving the pass. Like the first goal against, Vegas executed the play well.

The third shot Wallstedt let in was a little different. Olofsson took a shot on net with 3:49 into the third period, which Karlsson tried to tip. However, it caught Gadreau’s stick and bounced bizarrely over Wallstedt’s pads instead of out. 

Using stick angles and body language, great goalies can read the shot before it’s taken. However, when a player makes a tip, they can’t even be 100% sure where it’s going, making it much more difficult to defend. In this case, Wallstedt was in position for Olofsson’s shot and might have been prepared for Karlsson’s tip but not Gadreau’s. A tip from the close in would probably have gone straight into Wallstedt’s pads half the time, but Vegas got a lucky bounce. 

The Wild have shown their support for Wallstedt. “He’s going through his route,” Hynes said after the game.

“It’s different for everybody, and I think he’s finding his way. It was nice to see him be able to come up after playing well down there and having a reset. And I thought he gave us a chance to win the game tonight, which is good to see. And now it just continues the process of helping a younger guy who’s got immense talent, who’s a big part of the future, just work through it.” 

Hynes and the Wild see potential in Wallstedt and recognized that he needed a reset rather than changing their expectations for him. Given the likelihood of injuries, he will probably get more opportunities to prove himself later in the season. 

Wallstedt had a great game despite the scoreboard and did not let in any soft goals. He’s still a young player who’s only played 4 NHL games. Still, Wallstedt will have to improve his play in Iowa if he wants to back up Gustavsson next season.