Minnesota Wild top prospect Jesper Wallstedt has been named the American Hockey League's Player of the Week for Nov. 27-Dec. 3. This is already the second time in this young season that the 21-year-old goalie has earned the honor.
The first time he received it was for his 57-save week during Oct. 30-Nov. 5.
Wallstedt is off to a strong start in his sophomore season between the pipes for the Iowa Wild. The numbers speak for themselves. Wallstedt, who is 8-4 with two shutouts in his first 12 starts, has a 2.03 goals against average and an AHL-best .937 save percentage.
“He’s so calm,” Iowa head coach Brett McLean told The Hockey News last month. “Other goalies are scrambling to cover the pucks, and he’s got a real presence about him back there — and it calms our whole team down.”
This past week was more of the same.
Wallstedt earned the start in both of Iowa's road contests against the Colorado Eagles this past weekend. Wallstedt made 83 saves on 86 shots for a .965 save percentage and backstopped Iowa to a 5-1 win (40 saves) on Friday and 3-2 victory (43 saves) on Saturday. His ability to put up those numbers in a back-to-back in the AHL at just 21 is why his arrival to Minnesota is so highly anticipated.
“He stands tall for us when we have our breakdowns,” rookie Carson Lambos said last month, “and we can really lean on him. Sometimes, we do probably too much, but we can get away with it at times, and he’s a rock back there.”
Wallstedt played well during his rookie season, finishing with a 18-15-5 record, 2.68 goals against average and .908 save percentage. Those numbers culminated in a spot at the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic and being named to the 2022-23 AHL Top Prospects Team.
There's no sophomore slump for Wallstedt as he's taken his game to the next level so far this season and continues to show why the Wild drafted him in the first round in 2021.
All data via Elite Prospects