After playing in his first NHL game of the season on Sunday, the Wild's prized prospect opened up about his struggles this season in the AHL.

ST. PAUL - Jesper Wallstedt got the call on Saturday as he was preparing to start for the Iowa Wild against the Rockford IceHogs that he would be starting against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. 

The original plan for Wallstedt this season was not to get his first start of the year during game 31 of the season but with the Wild's salary cap and the way that Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson played to start the season, there wasn't a real opportunity for him to get in. 

Before opening night, Wallstedt and Liam Ohgren were rewarded with how good they played in camp and preseason that they would start the season on the Wild. 

But right before game one of the season, the Wild had to send Wallstedt down because they needed an extra defenseman before puck drop in case someone got hurt in warmups, plus Declan Chisholm was not available.

Minnesota recalled Wallstedt the next day but then reassigned him before they went on the road. Wallstedt remained in Iowa after all of this and did not perform to the standards he wanted to. 

“I haven’t performed to the standards that I want to be at either I don’t think. The start I had in Iowa wasn’t proving that I belonged here at that time," Wallstedt said. "But last couple weeks have felt way better. I’ve been speaking with a lot of sports psychologists and stuff to try to get my mind back and in the right spot. Obviously, when you’re on an all-time low, it feels like there’s no way out and you keep asking yourself what you’re doing. 

"But I was always trusting my game. I felt like my game was in the right spot. I knew I made the team out of camp. I knew there was something that there was to build from, but it was all in my head. My head wasn’t in the right spot.”

In his first AHL start, after he was sent down, Wallstedt allowed five goals on 42 shots. His next start he allowed seven on 25 shots and was pulled. After four good games in Iowa Wallstedt allowed five, three, and eight goals each in his next three games before he got a break from playing. 

“I think the beginning right after I got sent down I think it was more that the plan changed that I was expecting," Wallstedt said on what went into his struggles. "But after that, you just gotta drop that behind. I think after that it was more that ok why am I not saving a puck in games? Why am I giving up seven goals? Why am I giving up eight goals? It was just like I couldn’t save a puck. It was like I hadn’t played hockey before. 

"It didn’t feel like my game was wrong, but it felt like my head wasn’t there and then I’m the one that gives myself the hardest criticism. So, I think I was just pushing myself down the rabbit hole as well.”

The Wild ended up giving their top prospect a reset. They allowed him to go over a week without making a start and it seemed to help him. 

Wallstedt, 22, said after he stopped 24 out of the 27 shots he faced against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday that he was speaking to sports psychologists during his struggles in Iowa. He tried to do anything to get his game back. 

Not many goaltenders get drafted in the first round. There is a lot of pressure on the goalie who is drafted in the first round to live up to the hype that was placed on them during their draft year. 

The Wild's 20th overall pick from the 2021 draft played his first two seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Iowa Wild. He played great in his first two seasons and got to play in three NHL games with the Wild last year. 

He even picked up his first win and first NHL shutout last year. 

After a good training camp and preseason, the Wild signed Wallstedt to a two-year contract extension and announced he would make the NHL team as their third goaltender. 

His mind was in a good spot after a great camp, a contract extension, and being rewarded with an NHL spot out of camp. 

The Wild decided to start the season, despite being almost at the cap limit, with three goaltenders. This was because they felt Wallstedt deserved it and deserved to get more starts than his three the year before, but also because of how the Wild's two goaltenders played last season. 

That plan quickly changed when the Wild had to recall and send Wallstedt down twice in the first two days of the season because of their roster and cap restraints. Plus Gustavsson's play. 

One would think that the cap maneuvering moves got to the 22-year-old goaltender who was given an extension and told congrats on making the NHL team out of camp. 

So he started to struggle in the AHL and it started to get real. 

“Yeah, it’s very hard. That’s my whole job, and it’s something I’ve done since I was 9, 10 years old, and now I’m like ok I forgot the ability how to stop pucks," Wallstedt said on how hard this is mentally. "But also I knew it was my game. It wasn’t the game plan. I know that’s working but it was all in my head. I was not proceeding with the right thoughts in my head, and I probably wasn’t in the right head space.”

As for what the first step is to find your game and get back the ability to stop a puck? Wallstedt didn't have an answer. So he searched for help. 

“I don’t think I knew that either. I had no answers. That’s why I needed people around me to help me get back there. I was so lost in my own mind and my own game where I was at in my own thoughts and everything," Wallstedt said. "Everything became hockey, even outside the rink. I think overthinking got to me."

During his reset period, the Wild sent their NHL goaltending coach Frederic Chabot down to Iowa to work with Wallstedt and get him back to where he is supposed to be. 

In his first game back in the AHL, Wallstedt only allowed two goals and later followed it up in his next game with a shutout. 

"Basically, all the people around me that helped me a couple things was just getting back to the basics, trusting your game, knowing you’re here for a reason, knowing that you can do it but also just like small keywords during game, think about your breathing, think about just next puck, think about try to pick up the spin on the puck when they’re shooting, just small stuff that can make you just clean your head and focus on puck.”

It seemed to have worked. Wallstedt put together two good games in the AHL before he was recalled to the Wild on December 14th. Fleury started for the Wild against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday and Gustavsson was not available to start for the Wild on Sunday against Vegas, so Minnesota had to recall Wallstedt. 

“Not really. I think I felt way more comfortable. The guys were awesome with me and super welcoming," Wallstedt said. "I think I didn’t really even have time to process it. I was in the rink for a game less than 24 hours after I knew I was getting called up. So, it was quick, but fun being back and playing. But obviously I would have wanted the win.”

The 6-foot-3 goaltender gave the Wild a good chance to win against a really good Golden Knights team. Ultimately the Wild dropped the game 3-2. But Wild head coach John Hynes thought that Wallstedt did great. 

"It’s not easy to be really good. And he’s going through his route. It’s different for everybody, and I think he’s finding his way," Hynes said about Wallstedt opening up to the media about his struggles. "It was nice to see him be able to come up after playing well down there and having a reset. And I thought he gave us a chance to win the game tonight, which is good to see. Now, it's just continuing the process of helping a younger guy who’s got immense talent, who’s a big part of the future just work through it. And a lot of times when you go through some adversity, when you go through certain things like this, it does make you better. 

"Like it does make you understand, you get a little bit of pushback. You do have to be mentally tougher to get through it. And that’s a big part of being an elite player is not just having the talent to do it but having the ability to I think focus and overcome adversity and fight through things. And that’s what you want. When someone goes through it, is how they continue to respond. I think Jesper’s doing a good job of it."

What is so impressive about Wallstedt is how mature he is and how much he understands the Wild's current situation. 

Gustavsson is not expected to be out long-term, so despite Wallstedt coming up and playing well against a great team, he is likely going to be sent back down to Iowa. 

“Yeah probably," Wallstedt said on if Iowa is the best place to get his game in order. "I think it’s going to be easier now knowing what I’ve been through and learning from that experience, not get so low right away if it happens. Kind of just learn from those two weeks that I was not good and make sure to not let that happen again.”

That being said, Wallstedt does hope to get some valuable lessons out of his time with the NHL club and put these struggles behind him. 

“Keep developing my game. Hopefully, play as many games as possible and prove that those first months were not something I’m going to look back at anymore. I’m just going to look forward and look towards the future and make sure I’ve improved from that and learned something that I can keep with me for my whole career.”

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