DES MOINES, Iowa — Jesper Wallstedt wrapped up a local TV interview at Wells Fargo Arena last week and left the rink for the day.
The Minnesota Wild’s touted goalie prospect was asked during the segment about how the American Hockey League could also be called the “Always Hungry League,” and he had no disagreements.
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“It really is,” he said.
It’s hard for every decision Wallstedt makes not to be about the next level right now. The 21-year-old Swede has rethought and rewatched his mid-January NHL debut countless times; a 7-2 loss will tend to stick with you. He was disappointed but not deterred. More so, he’s determined, especially after the pep talk he received from coach John Hynes on a plane ride home during a brief NHL stint this year.
Spend an afternoon with Wallstedt, and you’ll see the determination everywhere. Even his car: a humongous white Dodge Ram 4×4. He used to drive an Audi but notes that this will be better for inclement weather in the Twin Cities.
“Perfect in a snowstorm,” Wallstedt said.
“I’ll take anything to get up there.”
It shouldn’t be long.
The Wild are all but officially eliminated from playoff contention, their 3-2 win over the Senators on Tuesday aside. With Marc-Andre Fleury saying it’s either playing in Minnesota or retirement, it’s time for the organization to make decisions in net. Will it be Fleury-Wallstedt? Or Fleury-Filip Gustavsson? Or Gustavsson-Wallstedt?
It would certainly make sense for the Wild to get an extended look at Wallstedt down the stretch, to see if their goalie of the future’s time is closer to the present.
“You’re always going to think before your first game that you’re ready for it,” Wallstedt said. “I thought 100 percent, for sure, I could play at that level. I still believe I can. Maybe I wasn’t as ready during that game as I would be today.
“I think I’d give the team a much better chance to win than I did back then.”
Wallstedt has settled in nicely in West Des Moines.
He lives a short drive from the rink with his girlfriend, Erika, whom he met randomly at a music festival in Umea, an eastern Sweden town. It was just after the World Championships, and Wallstedt and his buddies took a spontaneous trip seven hours north of his hometown of Vasteras. He and Erika clicked right away then reconnected over several weekend trips to Stockholm. She’s come to Vasteras to meet his family and has gone back and forth from Sweden to Iowa while studying.
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“Didn’t think I’d meet my girlfriend at a festival that far away,” he said. “But it’s worked out great.”
Wallstedt’s parents, Jonas (a former goalie) and Helena Kedborn, are visiting Des Moines this weekend, planning to stay through Tuesday’s game against Rockford.
This is the REAL bobblehead being given out on Saturday, presented by @leafguardia & @lazer1033, and no it's not actually chocolate.. but a limited amount will be signed by Jesper himself!
Get there early 🎟️: https://t.co/J3tn9NAc7J pic.twitter.com/c0eOX21Gdo
— Iowa Wild (@IAWild) April 2, 2024
They were both supposed to be at his Jan. 11 NHL debut, too. Jonas made it, but his bags didn’t. Helena had awful travel issues. Customs required proof of her return flight ticket, which Jonas had, but when they tried calling him (middle of the night U.S. time), he was asleep. She ended up getting rerouted through Paris and Helsinki before just going back home.
“Just crazy,” Wallstedt said.
So was the debut.
Wallstedt got his first NHL call-up on Jan. 9, not too long after Fleury got hurt in a game in Florida. Wallstedt had been banged up, too, having just returned from an injury and made back-to-back starts to show he was good to go. The seven goals he allowed against the Stars on 34 shots made for an ugly stat line, but Wallstedt tried to take a mature perspective out of it.
“I learned a lot about myself and who I am — how I work, what I have to do to get through it when I am struggling,” Wallstedt said. “That game was right after an injury. I came back, had two decent games against Grand Rapids at home and then I was thrown into that game. It was a lot.
“There were a lot of things that day that were not good enough, but I was also proud of things I was doing, too. It was easy to say from the outside that seven goals wasn’t good enough. ‘He was letting in those goals.’ ‘He was beat a lot high blocker.’ … Of course, that’s the feeling you have right after the game. Then you watch the game and go through it. And playing Dallas, one of the best teams in screens and tips, I didn’t give up any goals on screens or tips. I’ve never been great at that. I developed that in my years in Iowa. That’s something that worked well and I was very happy about.”
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Wallstedt seemed really confident the morning of that NHL debut. He welcomed a chat with reporters following the morning skate — something not many NHL goalies do. He called it a dream come true and even said that it was good it was a road game and that he’d welcome any boos. Inside, though, he felt the magnitude of the moment. He got the jitters.
“It took me so long to realize where I was,” Wallstedt said. “I was a little nervous during the anthem. I was just playing on so much adrenaline in the beginning. I was overdoing things. Rebounds were bouncing everywhere. I look at that first period a lot. I was overdoing everything — a little bit extra on everything. Which is normal I guess.
“(Jason Robertson) got one five-hole, and it was (taken away) due to coach’s challenge. I’m like, ‘Thank God. Maybe it’ll wake me up a little bit.’ Then I got sniped on right after. There were a lot of emotions that kept on coming during the game.”
Fleury would encourage Wallstedt. “Keep on doing your thing,” “Next puck” — typical goalie stuff, trying to keep him from thinking about the past. Wallstedt did learn a ton, though.
“A lot of small things, technically,” Wallstedt said. “I definitely saw I was too slow for that level. When they started moving it around, I didn’t get set, didn’t get in position. I definitely wasn’t as confident as I am right now. That’s a big thing. If a goalie is playing without confidence, that’s everything. When I’m at my best, I’m over-the-top assertive to the guy I’m playing. I’m playing the shooter straight up. I’m moving crisp. I’m getting in position early. I just wasn’t doing that.”
Wallstedt got on the team’s charter plane for the flight home and tried to rest — not overthink what just happened. Hynes walked to the back of the plane and sat next to him. They gave each other their impressions on the game. Hynes was very encouraging, trying to pick him up.
“You don’t think a rookie or a first-year guy having a debut and the coach is going to come in and encourage you after such a bad game,” Wallstedt said. “But he did. That was big for me. That helped me get over it faster maybe than I would have.
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“It wasn’t like he was trying to break me down like some coaches do. They try to throw the blame on you. He showed he was supporting me.”
That’s not to say that Wallstedt just let it go. Once he got back to the downtown St. Paul hotel he was staying in, he flipped on the TV and went to work. He watched the debut twice: first the full version (with Swedish broadcasters), then a breakdown of clips. Wallstedt feels that’s the best way to get it out of his system.
Rewatching, Wallstedt remembered how when he got to the AHL, he thought about how unpredictable it was. But the NHL? “Now that’s unpredictable.”
Not that he was the first goalie to get scored on by Joe Pavelski or Tyler Seguin.
“But I want to be the one that stops them,” Wallstedt said. “That’s what we get paid for.
“I played a lot of great players in the AHL and I know I can confidently stop them. Now it’s about getting to the next level and doing it up there.”
Hynes said Wallstedt left his NHL debut a “hungry” goalie.
He didn’t mean it literally.
The Iowa Wild do social media posts after practices quizzing players on fun topics as they come off the ice. In one that went viral last month, players were asked who would win a pie-eating contest.
A bunch said, “Wally.”
“He does love his desserts,” joked Caeden Bankier.
“He’s got a big appetite,” Carson Lambos said.
“I do like sweets,” Wallstedt said, smiling. “There’s a lot of sweets in Sweden, so I bring that with me. I’m more of a candy and chips kind of guy than the pastry thing. I enjoy that.”
Where did the pie-eating contest chirps come from?
“I think I’m an easy target because I’m a big guy,” said the 6-foot-3, 214-pound Wallstedt, coincidentally being interviewed in a bakery (no desserts were ordered). “I eat a lot because I need energy. I sweat and burn a lot of calories. So I tend to just eat whatever and eat a lot of it.”
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“I actually hate pie,” he added with a laugh. “Not my thing.”
As former Wild winger Brandon Duhaime can attest, teammates don’t usually chirp you if they don’t like you. And Wallstedt is definitely a beloved guy in the Iowa dressing room. He might be the team’s most-prized prospect — the player who gets the most media attention — but he still seems like one of the guys. Ryan O’Rourke, who roomed with him last season, laughed remembering how random the goalie’s alarms were (all rap songs). O’Rourke never set his own alarm.
“If mine was set for 8:30, he’d put his for 8:25,” O’Rourke said.
Bankier said on long bus rides, no matter the time, Wallstedt will just yell, “Cards!” and a bunch of them will play together (7 up, 7 down). They’ll use their cell phones for lights.
“Wally is full of energy, such a great guy,” forward Michael Milne said. “At the rink, away from the rink, he’s always making jokes. He’s serious but you can tell he’s always in a good mood. A breath of fresh air seeing him come to the rink. Just love the guy.”
The Iowa Wild have struggled this season, partly due to all the call-ups to the Wild (see: Dakota Mermis, Vinni Lettieri, Adam Beckman, Sammy Walker). As coach Brett McLean said, they haven’t always been an easy team to play in front of. But Wallstedt has given them a chance most nights, with a .912 save percentage and 2.65 goals-against average. When McLean has to put his team through a long practice, a ton of shots, Wallstedt gets it, telling him, “That’s what we needed.”
“With young goalies, and Europeans too, they’re usually quiet and stay to themselves,” McLean said. “From Day 1, (he was) a huge part of the fabric of our team. He’s out there, he’s chirping guys during practice. They’re chirping him. He’s not in his own world. He’s right in the middle of everything with the team, which I’ve loved.
“He’s such a big leader on our team — not just because of his play, but every day in practice. And then he’s got a calming presence in net. At that age, it’s crazy to be that good for us. And a lot of nights haven’t been easy.”
Chirping teammates in practice. Right in the middle of everything. Sound a bit like Fleury?
Wallstedt said the morning of his debut that Fleury has been a huge help in their short time around each other. There’s, of course, a chance that Fleury — if he’s re-signed — could continue to be a mentor.
‘That’d be sick,” Wallstedt said. “I think the biggest thing with him is his presence. Feeling him when he’s around you. He just brings something else. It’s hard to put into words. It’s something with him that gives you confidence, makes practice even more fun. Having him in your surroundings gives you 2 percent extra.
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“I felt that as soon as I was practicing. … He didn’t even say anything to me. I look at him. ‘OK, ‘Flower is here.’ It’s Flower. He’s played in the NHL as long as I’ve lived. He’s that guy. You grew up with him and (Henrik) Lundqvist, they were playing against each other. It’s just Flower. He’s the guy. It’s special to be around him. It’s something you don’t take for granted. It makes you want to compete with him.”
Gustavsson has said that Fleury also influenced him, comparing it to a “virus” he injects you with.
“He’s been doing it for so long and still enjoys it every day,” Wallstedt said. “He loves competing and never gives up. When you’re around that and you’re a young guy and you see that, it kind of makes your tough days a little more fun. You’re like, ‘How can he enjoy every single day when sometimes I feel like I don’t even want to be here because I had a rough day — I had stuff happening at home?’ And he’s there smiling and competing. It makes you realize, this sport is something else.”
Wallstedt said Gustavsson has also helped him at camps and during his call-up. They obviously have more in common, both coming from Sweden and at one point sharing a goalie coach. “I really like Gus,” Wallstedt said. “It was very nice being two Swedish goalies, being able to chit-chat. He’s very relaxed. He’s very much like me. I feel like he and I are very similar in a lot of spots, which is fun to be around. Personality-wise, he’s funny too. Sneaky funny. Undercover funny.”
Like Gustavsson, Wallstedt is big into gaming. But he’s not in on the NHL roster’s games yet. Gustavsson plays a tactical shooter called “Counter-Strike” with teammates, including Jonas Brodin and Kirill Kaprizov.
“I was trying when I was up there to see if I could play,” Wallstedt said with a smile. “They didn’t invite me. I was too young to get in there. Don’t invite rookies.”
Getting into NHL practices and games is the first priority, though. Gaming can come later.
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Just practicing against Kaprizov, Wallstedt said, was motivating — gave him energy when he’d make a save.
“It’s like (Sidney) Crosby, (Alex) Ovechkin,” Wallstedt said. “We’ve got Kaprizov.”
Matt Hendricks, the Wild’s assistant director of player development, could sense a greater maturity and focus this season when he’d visit the team in Iowa.
“Last season, I spent some time on the bench with their team,” Hendricks said. “He comes back during the bench in TV timeout, drinking water, smiling, talking to a few guys. I was on the bench at the beginning of this season. He comes to the bench and is just serious. That’s where he’s at in his game. He’s taken a step, whether that’s his mental maturity, emotional maturity.
“He seems to have a plan. He’s obviously a big kid — a very, very talented goalie. But he’s learning that side of the game. The mental side. The pro side. The North American brand of hockey. I think he wants to be the man.”
(Top photos: Courtesy of the Iowa Wild and Joe Smith / The Athletic)