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  • Jesper Wallstedt Is Worth the Wait

    Image courtesy of © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
    Mikki Tuohy

    By Mikki Tuohy -

    We're concluding our countdown of the Minnesota Wild's Top-10 Prospects by telling you everything you need to know about our No. 1 Prospect: Jesper Wallstedt.

    Jesper Wallstedt is the complete package. He’s personable. He’s funny. And he happens to be the best goalie prospect in the league. Wallstedt is almost ready for his second season in North America and Minnesota Wild fans can’t wait to see him. However, this 20-year-old Swede has bought into the Wild’s vision for him and doesn’t mind developing in Iowa. And that’s a good thing! In his 2023 end-of-season Instagram post, he even talks about hoping to see Iowa again next season.

    There is a school of thought that if the Wild have the best goalie prospect, they should immediately call him up and throw him in net. While it might put more people in the seats (not that selling tickets is an issue for the Wild), it isn’t the right thing to do. Prospects at other positions might be able to handle being thrown right into the NHL. Goalies are different. Most require extra development time before taking on the pressure of playing at the highest level.

    That’s especially evident in Wallstedt’s stats at the beginning of last year. While he ended the year on the AHL Top Prospects Team, he got off to a slow start. Coming from the SHL, Sweden's top professional league, Wallstedt had to adjust his play to an entirely new rink size. That might not seem like much, but while he could anticipate shot angles in Sweden, they didn’t translate to the NHL rink. A large part of his development last year was adjusting his style of play to fit onto a new rink size. Ultimately, Wallstedt adapted his game to North America. He ended the year with a .908 save percentage, a 2.68 goals-against average, and one shutout, despite the rough start.

    Even with his initial struggles, there shouldn’t be any concern. As mentioned in the video clip below, Wallstedt was the youngest goalie in Sweden’s U20 league history. At age 14, Wallstedt was living on his own and playing against far older players. During the 2020-21 SHL season, he tied for the most appearances for U20 goalies with 22 games. Speaking as a goalie scout for the NHL in the video below, Al Jensen hesitated to put the label “generational” on Wallstedt because of his young age. However, he admitted that Wallstedt already had NHL qualities in his game at such a young age. 

    Wallstedt’s goaltending style is similar to Filip Gustavsson’s. They both rely on reading the play accurately and squaring up to the shot. Their presence in the net is calm and calculated. Unlike the dynamic style of Marc-Andre Fleury, Wallstedt and Gustavsson might be considered almost boring. But watch the clip below. Wallstedt makes save after save without getting flustered. He reads the play and makes slight adjustments. 

    Let’s move on to the fun stuff. Wallstedt hit North America and hadn’t been afraid to let his personality shine. Who can forget the empty net goal seen ‘round the world?

    He also can get fancy with the puck in warm-ups: 

    Here he is joining in on The Wave at the AHL All-Star Game:

    He’s also got some nice moves as he dances along to “Beat It” during a mid-game stoppage: 

    Wallstedt is that rare hockey player who isn’t afraid to do media and actually seems to relish the opportunity. It’s refreshing to hear a professional athlete be so real. Below, Wallstedt is talking about some of his teammates/friends who annoy him:

    There are even indications that Wallstedt could have a future in sports broadcasting. You know, after a long, successful goalie career, of course. Here he shows his personality as he’s given the mic and a chance to interview Sammy Walker: 

    It’s hard to wait for such an amazing prospect to join the big club. But Jesper Wallstedt is the real deal. He deserves patience from fans while he prepares to compete at the highest level. Because once he is playing in Minnesota, it will be clear that the wait was worth it. 

    By Mikki Tuohy  

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    vonlonster67

    This kid's character and obvious talent make him easy to love as a prospect! It appears he has a great balance for the locker room and on the ice. The guy who can be the jokester back to completely serious going to war against the other team on the ice. Fan's adore him in IA now.

    There's no question his talent has shown through at every level and even through a few speed bumps and adjustments at IA he still kept his composure. Another year of being battle tested in IA, and possibly a call up or two this year for the WIld will be fun to watch.

    Goalies are quirky, but he appears to have a lot of Flower's magic as a jokester and prankster along with his own unique level of on ice talent.  Prospects like him are fun to follow as he is not the status quo player on the ice who is reserved and keeps his head down. Probably why he's in the position of goalie. Sure to be a leader on our team someday as the guy everyone loves to have in their locker room.

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    TCMooch

    For me, this is how I rate our top 10 prospects (well the top 10 used by Hockey Wilderness)

    Very Probably Top Lineup:

    1. Jesper Wallstedt

    Maybe Top but more than likely Middle Lineup:

    2. Marco Rossi
    3. Brock Faber
    4. Charlie Stramel
    5. Marat Khus(khus)nutdinov
    6. Danila Yurov


    Maybe Middle but more than likely Bottom Lineup:

    7. Liam Ohgren
    8. Carson Lambos
    9. Riley Heidt

    Maybe Bottom that plays more than 100 NHL games for the Wild hopefully:

    10. Daemon Hunt
     

     

     

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    vonlonster67
    1 hour ago, TCMooch said:

    For me, this is how I rate our top 10 prospects (well the top 10 used by Hockey Wilderness)

    Very Probably Top Lineup:

    1. Jesper Wallstedt

    Maybe Top but more than likely Middle Lineup:

    2. Marco Rossi
    3. Brock Faber
    4. Charlie Stramel
    5. Marat Khus(khus)nutdinov
    6. Danila Yurov


    Maybe Middle but more than likely Bottom Lineup:

    7. Liam Ohgren
    8. Carson Lambos
    9. Riley Heidt

    Maybe Bottom that plays more than 100 NHL games for the Wild hopefully:

    10. Daemon Hunt
     

     

     

    I'd say if they are playing with the big club they don't belong on the prospect group anymore

    1. Jesper Wallstedt
    2. Danila Yurov
    3. Carson Lambos
    4. Marat Khusnutdinov
    5. Liam Öhgren  
    6. Riley Heidt
    7. Charlie Stramel
    8. David Spacek
    9. Hunter Haight
    10. Daemon Hunt
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    Skolwild

    These clips remind me of my favorite wild goaltender of all time (not performance based) Ilya bryzgalov. Hopefully the wall is the real deal and goofy as hell. Athletes are more fun when they let their hair down! 

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    TS102
    9 hours ago, vonlonster67 said:

    I'd say if they are playing with the big club they don't belong on the prospect group anymore

    1. Jesper Wallstedt
    2. Danila Yurov
    3. Carson Lambos
    4. Marat Khusnutdinov
    5. Liam Öhgren  
    6. Riley Heidt
    7. Charlie Stramel
    8. David Spacek
    9. Hunter Haight
    10. Daemon Hunt

    Khusnutidnov is being underrated. He's #2, even with Rossi on the list. Very few players have scored 41 points as a 20 y/o in the KHL. And his two-way play and faceoff percentage are arguably the best of our center prospects.

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    Luke Sims
    16 hours ago, vonlonster67 said:

    I'd say if they are playing with the big club they don't belong on the prospect group anymore

    1. Jesper Wallstedt
    2. Danila Yurov
    3. Carson Lambos
    4. Marat Khusnutdinov
    5. Liam Öhgren  
    6. Riley Heidt
    7. Charlie Stramel
    8. David Spacek
    9. Hunter Haight
    10. Daemon Hunt

    Ah, A Haight believer.

    Beauty. 

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    vonlonster67
    9 hours ago, TS102 said:

    Khusnutidnov is being underrated. He's #2, even with Rossi on the list. Very few players have scored 41 points as a 20 y/o in the KHL. And his two-way play and faceoff percentage are arguably the best of our center prospects.

    TS, I believe you have a good argument. I would say you have to weigh what he's shown to where Yurov and Lambos impact is also. Both have been forgotten and are going to rise to the top with Dino.

    I take Dino over Rossi any day as they are similar players, but Dino has more experience against better talent and plays with an edge.

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    mnfaninnc

    It seems that the argument is based upon the definition. Some rate the top 10 based upon projections of where they will end up. Others rate the top 10 based upon where their game is today. 

    I think this is where we get a wide variety of opinions. I would prefer the balance sheet approach, which is a snapshot in time of where a player's game is today. It's not about projections of what they will be. Using that approach, it usually favors older players (older like in 21-22) over the just drafted guys. It also favors the guys who are just about ready to make the jump. 

    How would this affect the list? Well, some like Beckman and Walker would probably be moved up the board since they are more ready. A guy like Mikey Milne would get credit for not playing junior last year, but making the jump to the A. Someone like Stramel would also get credit for playing up a league in college hockey. Ohgren, Dino, and Yurov also get some points for playing in men's leagues instead of junior. 

    If you take the projections approach, then your top 6/top 4 pairing projection guys take the lead on the list. Guys like Heidt and Haight would move up, and Yurov would likely be ahead of Dino, though it would be close. Guys like Hunt, O'Rourke, and Milne would slip down due to their projected role. Your older guys who have not yet made an impact might be seen as the window closing and it's time to trade them out. The younger guys have all the buzz, and still have a year left in junior to tantalize the stat watchers. 

    It seems like even the staff may have been confused over the definition when they made their vote(s). Were you a projections guy, or a balance sheet guy?

    For those who don't get the reference, the Balance Sheet is an accounting term which looks at a company's or individual's snap shot in time. It's a lot like looking at your house value on Zillow, which could change tomorrow, not drastically, but change. An Income Statement projects how well you did in the given year which would be another interesting list to see how much each prospect improved compared to the others in the organization. Some also call it the Profit and Loss Statement. 

    My assumption is that we have readers/commenters of all ages including some in high school. I don't want to presume that everyone is familiar with accounting terms. But, maybe if you're not, you can even learn something useful just by reading a sports blog 😎.

    Edited by mnfaninnc
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    vonlonster67
    2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

    It seems that the argument is based upon the definition. Some rate the top 10 based upon projections of where they will end up. Others rate the top 10 based upon where their game is today. 

    I think this is where we get a wide variety of opinions. I would prefer the balance sheet approach, which is a snapshot in time of where a player's game is today. It's not about projections of what they will be. Using that approach, it usually favors older players (older like in 21-22) over the just drafted guys. It also favors the guys who are just about ready to make the jump. 

    How would this affect the list? Well, some like Beckman and Walker would probably be moved up the board since they are more ready. A guy like Mikey Milne would get credit for not playing junior last year, but making the jump to the A. Someone like Stramel would also get credit for playing up a league in college hockey. Ohgren, Dino, and Yurov also get some points for playing in men's leagues instead of junior. 

    If you take the projections approach, then your top 6/top 4 pairing projection guys take the lead on the list. Guys like Heidt and Haight would move up, and Yurov would likely be ahead of Dino, though it would be close. Guys like Hunt, O'Rourke, and Milne would slip down due to their projected role. Your older guys who have not yet made an impact might be seen as the window closing and it's time to trade them out. The younger guys have all the buzz, and still have a year left in junior to tantalize the stat watchers. 

    It seems like even the staff may have been confused over the definition when they made their vote(s). Were you a projections guy, or a balance sheet guy?

    For those who don't get the reference, the Balance Sheet is an accounting term which looks at a company's or individual's snap shot in time. It's a lot like looking at your house value on Zillow, which could change tomorrow, not drastically, but change. An Income Statement projects how well you did in the given year which would be another interesting list to see how much each prospect improved compared to the others in the organization. Some also call it the Profit and Loss Statement. 

    My assumption is that we have readers/commenters of all ages including some in high school. I don't want to presume that everyone is familiar with accounting terms. But, maybe if you're not, you can even learn something useful just by reading a sports blog 😎.

    Well stated fine sir!

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    Quebec1648

    Rossi should not be on the prospects list anymore, given that he has been called up to the NHL more than once. We're it not for Rossi struggling in the NHL (in part because of DE putting him on line 4), he would be done with the AHL. If anything, Rossi should be lower on the list.

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    Protec

    Wallstedt is gonna be good. His demeanor and personality are attributes that help him overall. He's got size and skill, but mentally his confidence isn't shaky. It shows. I think the Wild have been wise to give him time, to plug the goalie holes, and match the timing with the other pieces of the Wild puzzle.

    Guerin's plan is coming together. The Wild are already good. If any of their young players take the next step it could be special. Between guys playing for contracts and young players pushing to cement their future, the competition should be good for the group. With another year to evaluate, perhaps the Wild will make a deadline move and perhaps some prospect value goes out the door for an important guy before the playoffs. It will be interesting to see how the Central begins to shape up. Colorado, Dallas, and MN haven't changed a lot but what happens with the remaining teams is curious. Nashville, Arizona, and Chicago have all seen some changes. Winnipeg and St.Louis are kinda hard to say whether they're better or worse off. Nashville will be better along with CHI and ARI, if I had to guess. I think the Wild are a playoff team, but will they be able to climb over Colorado or Dallas?

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