Jesper Wallstedt has been part of the Minnesota organization since 2022–2023, but in previous seasons there have been only five games in the NHL and most games in the farm team Iowa Wild in the AHL.
Now the 23-year-old is competing with compatriot Filip Gustavsson, 27, for the starting spot in the NHL club. Gustavsson has kept a clean sheet in two of the 15 games he has played this season, but the one who tops the NHL's statistics for kept clean sheets is Wallstedt.
“More confident”
Away against Winnipeg, he was noted for his third shutout in his last four games. He made 32 saves as Minnesota won its fifth straight 3–0.
"I have a fantastic team in front of me," Wallstedt says humbly, according to the NHL's website.
Hopefully I can show some calmness at the back so they can trust me, continues the Swede, who has guarded the goal in eight matches this season.
He is praised by teammate and 2-0 goal scorer Brock Faber, who was played by Marcus Johansson.
Wallstedt is playing like a wall right now. It's fun to watch and it gives us all confidence. You can see that he is becoming more and more confident with each passing day. It's so great to see, says defender Faber.
“Deserves its zeros”
"It took him a while to get here. He's worked hard, fought hard, and gone through adversity, ups and downs. To see him play the way he can play is incredible," he continues.
Coach John Hynes praises both Wallstedt and Gustavsson.
"We've had excellent goalkeeping. Both of them deserve their clean sheets, but we're a strong team defensively," says Hynes.
