Wild's future between the pipes looks to be in good hands with Jesper Wallstedt
Marc-Andre Fleury is the unquestioned No. 1 goalie for the Minnesota Wild entering the 2022-23 season, but with retirement on the horizon the future between the pipes appears to be very bright in the State of Hockey.
Jesper Wallstedt, the 19-year-old Swedish goalie the Wild drafted in 20th overall in 2021, stopped 125 of 133 shots he faced in five games for the Swedish national team at the world junior championship in Albert, Canada.
- 21 of 23 shots against Germany
- 38 of 41 shots against USA
- 12 of 13 shots against Latvia
- 27 of 28 shots against Finland
- 27 of 28 shots against Czechia
Eight goals in five games translates to a 1.62 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. No goalie posted better numbers in both statistics and he was named the top goalie of the tournament.
What's more is that Minnesota hockey fans can take a little solace in that fact that Logan Cooley, who will play for the Gophers this upcoming season, assisted on two of Team USA's three goals against Wallstedt.
Tomas Monten on Jesper Wallstedt (MIN):
"He was the best goalie in the tournament. He's such a great leader, calm. We knew he would have it. We only gave up one goal 5-on-5 in the playoff round. If you could put a C on a goalie, he'd have it. Minnesota's got a lot to work with," said Tomas Monten, head coach of Sweden, according to FloHockey's Craig Peters.
Here's what The Athletic's Scott Wheeler wrote about Wallstedt:
"Though he's had some shaky moments in the tournament, Wallstedt is the most talented goalie in this tournament and very well could be the best NHL netminder to come out of this group. He's mature, poised and reliable. Sweden clearly plays with more confidence when he's in the net. He has a .922 save percentage through three starts and could be the difference if Sweden continues to struggle with goal scoring."
Wallstedt went 11-9-2 with a 1.98 GAA and .918 SV% and three shutouts in 22 games in Sweden's Elite League last season. He led the league in GAA and was fourth in SV%.
Wallstedt will suit up for the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League this season, while 24-year-old Filip Gustavvson is expected to serve as Fleury's backup for the Wild this season.
🇸🇪’s top three players of the tournament, as selected by the team (these are picked in advance of the medal games):
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) August 20, 2022
- G Jesper Wallstedt (MIN)
- D Emil Andrae (PHI)
- F Akke Stakkestad
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.