Wild prospect Jesper Wallstedt could debut soon!

The Minnesota Wild selected goaltender Jesper Wallstedt with the 20th overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, and thanks to an injury to starter Filip Gustavsson, he could be in line to make his first start! 

Wallstedt has officially been called up from the American Hockey League affiliate Iowa Wild, where he had amassed a record of 11-7-2 with a 2.54 goals-against average and .917 save percentage so far this season. 

However, his first starting date hasn't been decided as of yet. 

“I think it’s to be determined,” head coach John Hynes said Monday.

“You never know,” Wallstedt added an optional morning skate. “Taking it day by day, and we’ll see how it goes.”

Wallstedt himself was dealing with an injury of his own in late December, which delayed his call up to the big club.

“Obviously I, of course, want to get there,” he said. “But now I’ve just got to take care of myself, and we took it easy with my injury and made sure it was 100 percent before I got the call to come up here.”

But understandably, he's excited to make the most of the opportunity that he has in front of him.

“Of course you can see a smile on my face,” Wallstedt said. “I’m happy that I’m here and we’ll see if the opportunity comes. I’ll try to give it my best shot if it happens. Otherwise, we’ll just get better by every day.”

Gustavsson isn't the only player missing from the Wild lineup right now, as there are injuries to both Kirill Kaprizov and Jonas Brodin.

“I don’t have a timeline on it, but they are on the ice (and) skating,” Hynes said of their respective recoveries. “That’s kind of the next phase. When you’re in that phase (it’s) similar to just what’s the next progression? Is it practice? Is it ready to play? Is it contact? But they’re all skating and progressing.”

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