Wallstedt making impressive run with Wild 'look kind of easy'

EDMONTON -- Jesper Wallstedt is "just trying to live in the moment," which is understandable considering how good things are right now for the Minnesota Wild goalie.

The 23-year-old rookie is playing the best hockey of his life and making it look easy in the process; Wallstedt has four shutouts in his past six starts after he made 33 saves in a 1-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Tuesday.

But the fact it hasn't always been easy for him makes this run particularly satisfying.

“It’s been so much fun to the start of the year,” said Wallstedt, who was named the NHL Rookie of the Month for November before the game; he went 6-0-0 with a League-best 1.14 goals-against average, a .967 save percentage and three shutouts. “I know what it’s like to not have so much fun, so I appreciate every day that is and I’m having a lot of fun right now.”

Wallstedt has five shutouts in 15 NHL games over three seasons, becoming the second fastest to reach the mark behind Frank “Mr. Zero” Brimsek in 1938, who had five shutouts in his first nine starts. With the win Tuesday, he is 8-0-2 in 10 games this season with a 1.74 GAA and .944 save percentage.

The Wild (15-7-5) are 10-0-2 in their past 12 games, a run that has moved them into third in the Central Division. They visit the Calgary Flames on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SN1, FDSNNOX, FDSNWI), although Wallstedt is expected to back up Filip Gustavssonin that game.

“I’ve never played like this before, I don’t think,” Wallstedt said. “I just can’t thank my teammates enough. Nothing would be possible without them. I’m just trying to do my job and making a lot of saves, but you can’t do that without the way we’ve been playing, tonight and every other game.

“I think when I’m calm, that’s the key. As soon as I start to look like I’m out of place and I’m everywhere, that’s not a good sign usually. It comes with the confidence, I’m confident right now, I know the way we as a team and myself has been playing has been successful and that makes me calm, I guess.”

Selected by Minnesota with the No. 20 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, Wallstedt spent the majority of the previous three seasons with Iowa of the American Hockey League. He played two games with the Wild last season, losing both; he allowed eight goals on 51 shots (.843 save percentage). In 2023-24, he played three games for the Wild and went 2-1-0 with a 3.01 GAA and .897 save percentage. He got his first NHL win on April 7, 2024, when he made 24 saves in a 4-0 victory at the Chicago Blackhawks.

But he went 9-14-4 with a 3.59 GAA and .879 save percentage in 27 AHL games with Iowa. It was a difficult season for Wallstedt, who was aiming to make the Wild roster out of training camp.

“He didn’t handle it well at the end of training camp last year when he went down and I think that did affect him early in the season, and then the injuries came to play and whatnot,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “But the thing with him and what I’ve liked, is that players are going to go through adversity, particularly young players, and the thing that I respect about him is that he had a tough year last year and he didn’t handle the situation the right way, but he took the action steps and learned lessons from that and turned it into action of what he needs to do to be able to play at this level.

“What’s encouraging is that he had a real good offseason and he made some real commitments to show that he wants to be able to get the best out of his abilities. We know he has NHL talent, but I think now he’s learning the other parts, whether it’s the game or being the starting goalie or how important things around the game are; your nutrition, your rest, recovery, practice is a big one. It’s good to see and we’ll just keep taking it in short spurts with him and as long as he continues doing what he’s doing, he’ll get opportunities to play moving forward.”

With his strong play, Wallstedt has played himself firmly into the picture to be one of the three goalies to represent Sweden at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Sweden opted for Gustavsson along with Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators and Jacob Markstrom of the New Jersey Devils for the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Ullmark (.876 save percentage) and Markstrom are (.874) have each struggled out of the gate this season.

“He’s just has confidence,” Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin said of Wallstedt. “He’s a calm, confident guy and it feels good to have him back there. Every shot you don’t get stressed out from it and he’s been confident and he’s playing really well.

“All the saves look kind of easy; even if it’s really hard, he makes it look easy for him. He’s a big guy and he’s playing good right now, it’s good. It looks easy for him right now, even if they are hard shots, and it’s been fun to watch.”