Wallstedt living 'the dream' after emerging for Wild

Jesper Wallstedt still remembers. 

Late nights, or perhaps early mornings depending on the schedule, parked next to his brother with a chance to tune into a New York Rangers game. 

More specifically, a Henrik Lundqvist start.

A start for Wallstedt, too, to chase a dream of one day being like his idol and landing on NHL ice. 

“I think that was obviously the goal from when you were young,” Wallstedt told NHL.com. “You dream. … For me it was always Lundqvist ever since I was young. I have a brother who’s eight years older than me. He was following the Rangers. We’d stay up at night Swedish time to watch the Rangers play. The dream was always to be like him and win over here and play in the NHL.” 

Wallstedt has since arrived. 

But the road hasn’t been direct for the 23-year-old from Vasteras, Sweden -- some 4,200 miles from his current residence manning the crease for the Minnesota Wild. 

The goal of being in an NHL net felt so far away as a teenager, prompting Wallstedt to change the scope of how he measured his successes.

“I think along the way there’s steps on the road where you find new goals,” he said. “I got to Luleå when I was 15, moved away 10 hours from my hometown. You get there and you’re watching the (Swedish Hockey League) team there and you’re like, ‘Oh I want to be like these guys.’

“Then you play more and more there and then you come over here and there’s a new goal all the time that you strive towards. But the main goal has always been to get here. You don’t think about it until you really, really get here.”

Here has been the goal since the Wild selected Wallstedt in the first round (No. 20) of the 2021 NHL Draft, the only time Minnesota has invested a first-round pick in the position, making him one of just seven goalies selected in the first round over the past decade. 

The draft pedigree didn’t guarantee instant success. 

And three long seasons spent with Iowa in the American Hockey League -- including a difficult 2024-25, when he finished with a 3.59 goals-against average and an .879 save percentage -- had Wallstedt questioning whether he’d eventually arrive at his dream destination.

“I’ve had so many ups and downs throughout the road,” Wallstedt said. “I’ve had three long years in Iowa and a really bad third year where it’s like, ‘OK, am I even going to get here … am I even going to get the chance again?’ Opportunity comes. You take it. Then you’re there. I think when I played in the playoffs last year, that was around the time where I was like, ‘I think I can deal with this role.’”

The opportunity last season allowed Wallstedt to crack the door open and play 35 regular-season games alongside fellow Swede Filip Gustavsson after playing five NHL games over the previous two seasons. 

He played 10 more in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, starting all but one of Minnesota’s postseason games as de facto No. 1. 

That success wasn’t surprising. 

“It was clear from Day 1 when he got to Minnesota last August,” said Frederic Chabot, the Wild’s goalie coach since 2020. “He was in the best shape we’d ever seen him. He was putting in the work. He just looked great right away. You could see there was an elevated focus and desire to be good. There’s never any guarantee, but when you put in the work and prepare the way he does, the chance of success is very good.”

Wallstedt has continued that run this season. With Gustavsson sidelined with a lower-body injury and no projected timetable to return, Wallstedt has been called on early and often for Minnesota. 

He hasn’t disappointed.

“Yeah, he's unreal,” Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov said. “He's always, he was unreal last year too. His playoffs and all season was really good. This year I think he has more confidence, and when you need a save from your goalie, he does it all the time. Sometimes like it's almost an empty net against him and it’s just a quick strike and he saves it. 

“He’s unbelievable.”

Fifteen games in, Minnesota (9-3-3) sits atop the Central Division and Western Conference entering Saturday. Wallstedt, for his efforts, leads goalies in games played (13), starts (13) and time on ice (784:28), is second in wins (8-2-3 record), and ranks 10th in both goals-against average (2.14) and save percentage (.916). 

“He's just very consistent,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “I think he's playing a consistent, solid game. He sees traffic well. He's in his net well. I think he reads the plays very good. And when he has that mindset and he's playing that style of game, it's really consistent for him. 

“It was a great experience for him even last year in the playoffs where the intensity of the games and the intensity of the series were important, but he's really learned how to manage himself from game to game, energy wise and mentally. That's been a big step for him.”

The last one, perhaps, has already been cleared: becoming an undisputed No. 1 goaltender.

One, potentially, that’ll have kids back home in Sweden staying up late to catch on TV. 

“I don’t think I’ve thought that long yet,” Wallstedt said. “I know I have friends and family and neighbors and kids back home that, every time I come home, they’re excited to see me and chat. I know they’re back home there. I appreciate everyone that watches me and wants to be like me, but I think it’s a far line of sight to get all the way back there right now. 

“It’s making sure I’m taking care of the every day and winning games.

“That’s my main objective.”