Wild recall 2021 first-round pick Jesper Wallstedt from AHL Iowa

The Minnesota Wild are calling up their 2021 first-round pick in goaltender Jesper Wallstedt for the first time in his career, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The team is also reassigning netminder Zane McIntyre to the AHL’s Iowa Wild.

The move has been long anticipated for Wild fans who have followed Wallstedt’s progress in the AHL. This season with Iowa, the 21-year-old goaltender has posted an 11-9-0 record with a .917 SV% and an 2.54 GAA in 20 appearances. He made his North American debut last season, recording an 18-5-5 record with an .908 SV% and 2.68 GAA in 38 appearances.

There’s a good chance Wallstedt makes his NHL debut on Monday as the Wild host the Dallas Stars. If Marc-Andre Fleury, who recorded his 551st win on Saturday night as the Wild defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, tying him with Patrick Roy for the second-most in league history, gets the start, then Wallstedt would likely start on Wednesday, which is also against the Stars.

It’s been an up-and-down season for a Wild team that was hoping to improve on its 2022-23 record of 46–25–11 and 103 points, only to finish with a first-round exit. This season, the Wild are 17-17-4 with 38 points through 38 games.

Forward Kirill Kaprizov leads the team in scoring with 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points in 34 games. Brock Faber, whom the Wild acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings in June 2022, leads the defensive core in scoring with 19 points in 38 games.

As of Sunday, they were three points behind the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. However, there are four teams between them and the final spot, so they will need to get hot in the second half of the 2023-24 campaign if they want to be playoff hockey this spring.