With an upcoming road trip, the Minnesota Wild announced that they have recalled goalie Jesper Wallstedt from the Iowa Wild. He will travel with the team on the five-game trip before one more home game to close out the 2023-24 season.
With the Wild all but mathematically out of the playoff runnings, this is the perfect time to give Wallstedt a start or two to judge his growth. There is still a question of goalies next year, with Filip Gustavsson signed for two more seasons and Marc-Andre Fleury open to return for one more year. Some of that decision rides on whether Wallstedt can show that he is up to NHL play.
While Wallstedt did start one game for Minnesota against the Dallas Stars in January, that was not an accurate picture of his abilities. He was thrown in with a mismatched team competition in front of him. The Wild were at the height of their injury bug, with almost every important player sitting out. On the other hand, the Stars were starting to pick up steam and become the team that has already clinched a playoff spot.
Suppose his play in Iowa is any measuring stick. In that case, Wallstedt is ready for another try. Backstopping a young, immature team who lost a few veterans to Minnesota, he has had to stand on his head to pull out a win or even a non-lopsided win. He is 21-19-3 this season. He has a goals-against average of 2.76 and a .908% save percentage. Wallstedt has racked up 2 shutouts this season. He currently ranks T-3rd in the AHL for games played for goalies and T-10th in wins.
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