Three straight losses have dunked the Minnesota Wild to 5-8-2 and quickly falling behind contenders in the NHL’s Western Conference, and now they’re off to Sweden for a pair of games in the international series in which they’ll face Ottawa on Saturday and Toronto on Sunday.
On Monday, Minnesota called up goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt, though it’s unclear if the 20-year-old star prospect is just along for the ride to his home country or if the Wild will actually use him in goal in place of the struggling Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury duo.
Wallstedt, who turns 21 on Tuesday, owns a 2.01 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage in eight games with the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League this season.
In September, The Hockey Writers named Wallstedt the third best goalie prospect in the NHL while noting that while could someday be a star in the NHL it might not be for a few more years.
The Wild on Monday also placed forward Frederick Gaudreau on long-term injured reserve, though head coach Dean Evason indicated that Gaudreau could play this weekend in Sweden.
Gaudreau, who reportedly skated Monday for the first time since being injured Oct. 24, has already missed nine games and long-term injured reserve is for players who are expected to miss a minimum of 24 days or 10 games.
The Athletic’s Michael Russo suspects that Gaudreau is retroactively being placed on long-term injured reserve, which would allow Wallstedt to play if Gustavsson or Fleury suffer an injury or illness while in Sweden.
gives the #mnwild flexibility in case Jesper Wallstedt has to play. Remember, teams in the Global Series can bring a third goalie cap-free UNLESS he has to play. LTIRing Gaudreau allows Wallstedt to play if there’s an injury/illness to Fleury/Gustavsson
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) November 12, 2023
