Minnesota Wild sign top goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt to entry-level deal

The Minnesota Wild may still be shaking off the sting of an early playoff exit, but fans and management have something to be excited about with top goaltending prospect Jesper Wallstedt inking his entry-level contract. The 19-year-old Swedish netminder was the club’s first selection at the 2021 NHL draft, going 20th overall after Minnesota traded up to get him. He signed his three-year ELC Monday.

After trading away Kaapo Kahkonen and other previously drafted goaltenders slipping down their depth chart, the Wild appear to have a bonafide goalie of the future in Wallstedt.

Appearing in 22 regular-season games with Lulea in the Swedish Hockey League, Wallstedt recorded a .918 save percentage and 1.98 goals-against average while picking up three shutouts and 12 wins. It was a marked improvement from his draft season when he had a .908 save percentage and 2.23 goals-against average in 22 games as well.

Wallstedt also looked poised to have a big World Junior Championship as he won each of his first two starts and posted a .962 save percentage before the event was cancelled due to a number of positive cases of COVID-19 among participating teams.

If there’s one thing Wallstedt needs for his next step, it’s more playing time, as he was in a platoon role with Lulea. By signing him, the Wild have some flexibility with the next moves for their young netminder. Though the NHL did recently sign a new transfer agreement with the Swedish hockey federation that could impact the amount of control NHL teams have over their prospects in terms of where they can loan them, Wallstedt is a first-round pick and there is no change to those rules. By signing him, the Wild get a lot of flexibility in next steps for their young goaltending prospect.

The Wild could send Wallstedt to the AHL and allow him to develop under their watchful eye with the Iowa Wild in Des Moines. They could also loan him back to Sweden assuming he will get the playing time he needs. The former option would probably be the ideal one as it gives the Wild a chance to have a much more hands-on approach with one of their most important prospects. Additionally, Iowa has been a positive step for a number of recent Wild rookies including Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi, Brandon Duhaime and even some of those recently traded like Nico Sturm and Kahkonen.

Wallstedt was the second goaltender selected in the 2020 draft, going five spots after Sebastian Cossa who was picked 15th by the Detroit Red Wings. The Edmonton Oilers then surprised the draft floor when they traded the 20th pick to Minnesota despite a glaring need in their system for a young goaltender. They used the picks gained from Minnesota to select Xavier Bourgault and Luca Munzenberger at Nos. 22 and 90, respectively.

The Wild now get to have a say in Wallstedt’s next steps. He would be eligible to return to play for Sweden in the rescheduled World Juniors. Assuming he doesn’t have a great chance to make the NHL roster, it would make sense to loan him to Sweden to try to finish what he started back in December.

Minnesota has a lot to figure out about its goaltending position for the immediate future, though. Cam Talbot still has another year remaining on his current contract, while Marc-Andre Fleury is an unrestricted free agent. The team will still have prospect Hunter Jones under contract for next season and Derick Baribeau is a restricted free agent in their system. There isn’t a ton of depth, so there are some immediate needs the team could potential address at the AHL level if they feel that is the best path for Wallstedt going forward.

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Minnesota Wild sign top goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt to entry-level deal

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