Wild’s Jesper Wallstedt hoping to put difficult season behind him
This story appeared on hockeysverige.se this week and has been translated from Swedish to English.
The dark cloud that followed Jesper Wallstedt throughout the season appears to have lifted.
At the Bauer Hockey Combine in Gothenburg, you hear his deep voice more than anyone else’s – often accompanied by a booming laugh. Being back home in Sweden, surrounded by family and friends, has helped him put the disappointment and frustration behind him.
Why? Because the 2024–25 hockey season turned out to be nothing like the 22-year-old goaltender had imagined.
The 2021 first-round draft pick headed to North America last fall with the intent of playing in the NHL. The first blow came when the Minnesota Wild assigned him to the AHL’s Iowa Wild after training camp, even though he had envisioned competing with Filip Gustavsson and Marc-André Fleury for playing time. The second blow came in the AHL, where his play failed to reach the level it had the previous season.
“It was very up and down, I’d say,” Wallstedt said. “A tough start where things didn’t go the way I had expected. It was a difficult beginning in the AHL, where I couldn’t get a grip on things, and my confidence really took a hit. Once I started finding my rhythm and getting into it again, injuries started piling up and kept me off the ice instead. I just didn’t feel like I could build any momentum.”
Wallstedt ended up playing just two NHL games for the Wild – both losses – and posted a .843 save percentage. His AHL numbers were underwhelming as well: 27 games, 14 losses, and a .879 save percentage – a big fall from the .910 the year before.
In an interview with The Athletic after the season, he admitted how naïve he had been in thinking he’d get more NHL playing time.
“I definitely don’t think I handled it the right way,” Wallstedt said. “Looking back, I feel like I took it way too hard and maybe doubted myself too much. I thought it was my fault or something. But there was no way the Wild could’ve carried three goalies all year. I almost laugh at myself for actually thinking, even just a little, that there could be space for three with the cap.”
During the season, he started working with a sports psychologist – something that’s helped him gain a more sober view of the situation now.
“Many people say I’ve had a pretty smooth career so far – that it’s all gone upward and that I haven’t faced adversity,” Wallstedt said. But now I have, and it just makes me even more motivated to have a strong summer of training and come back stronger next year.
“A lot of it is mental. I know what I’m capable of as a goalie, but when things haven’t gone my way on the ice, I’ve maybe wanted it too badly – chased pucks or played too aggressively. I’ve chased success instead of letting it come to me, which is what I used to do when I trusted my game. But this was the first real adversity I’ve had to deal with, and I needed to try something new. Now I know I need to get back to what I know works, and I’ve done a lot of work on the mental side. That’s been the biggest area I’ve needed to develop.”
How much of goaltending would Wallstedt say is mental versus talent?
“Especially when you’re younger, you can get by on talent – and I guess that’s what I did to some extent,” Wallstedt said. “When I came to Luleå, I had to work on my work ethic and develop physically. Over there [in North America], I’ve had to work on my mental toughness, which maybe used to be strong, but had never taken a hit like this before. Now I’ve experienced that and learned what it feels like.”
So the setbacks have brought something positive: lessons in how to reverse a negative trend or break a destructive pattern. They’ve given him a new, valuable perspective.
“When things are going really well, it’s easy to just ride that wave. But when you face adversity, you open up more to developing, finding new solutions, or making changes. I’ve been really open this year to receiving new information and trying new things, so I believe it’s been a year of growth.”
Considering how the season went, will Wallstedt make any changes to how he prepares?
“I would say I will,” Wallstedt said. “Above all, I’ll focus on strengthening smaller muscle groups, putting extra focus on the areas where I’ve been injured and trying to build muscle around those. Otherwise, I know that what I’ve done in the past has worked too. I’m not ready to take one season and change everything, but of course, I’ll make small adjustments. And I’m still only 22 – I’ve got plenty left to develop and a lot of work to put in off the ice as well.”
Despite last season not turning out the way Wallstedt had hoped, the door to the NHL is wide open for him heading into the coming season. The legendary Marc-André Fleury has retired, and the Minnesota Wild showed faith in the Swede by not signing a direct replacement when free agency opened last week.
In other words, the spot next to Gustavsson is his to lose.
“Of course I want to be in the mix and compete for that spot,” Wallstedt said. “I’ve signed a new contract that I want to live up to. Now, after three seasons in the AHL, the goal is clearly to crack the NHL. I believe I’m capable of that when I’m at my best – but I still have to work on some things around my game. That’s definitely where I want to be. Everyone strives for the NHL, and I’ve had a small taste of it – it’s an incredible experience and that’s where I want to be.”
What can we expect from Wallstedt next season? In short: a better goalie.
“Hopefully I’ll be playing in the NHL with Minnesota, and that Filip and I will form a Swedish goalie tandem,” Wallstedt said. “That would be awesome. I also want to take steps forward and continue improving, have a real bounce-back season and completely put this past one behind me – get back to the style of play I’ve had in the past that’s brought me success.”