Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt has emerged as a Calder Trophy dark horse with a dominant start to his NHL career. The 23-year-old leads the league in goals-against average and save percentage while securing his fourth shutout of the season. Wallstedt reached five career shutouts in just 15 games, the second-fastest mark in NHL history.
Jesper Wallstedt, the 20th overall pick by the Minnesota Wild in the 2021 NHL Draft, has recorded an 8-0-2 record in his first 10 games of the season. He earned his NHL-leading fourth shutout on Monday against the Edmonton Oilers, making 32 saves in the process. Wallstedt leads the league in goals-against average at 1.74 and save percentage at .944 among goalies with at least seven games played.
Wallstedt achieved his fifth career shutout in only 15 games, trailing just Frank Brimsek of the Boston Bruins, who did so in nine games in 1938. This pace surpasses notable goalies like Dominik Hasek (73 games), Martin Brodeur (80 games) and Patrick Roy (134 games).
Following Marc-Andre Fleury's retirement, Wallstedt serves as backup to Filip Gustavsson, who has a 7-7-3 record, 2.74 GAA and .906 save percentage. The Wild tandem ranks second in team save percentage at .914, behind the Colorado Avalanche's .922.
Advanced metrics highlight Wallstedt's impact. He leads goalies with at least 10 games in 5-on-5 save percentage (.959) and close-game 5-on-5 save percentage (.970). Despite the Wild ranking sixth-worst in 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage (46.8), Wallstedt has posted a .900-plus save percentage in nine of 10 starts.
Wallstedt excels on perimeter shots, with a 1.000 save percentage on long-range attempts (81 saves on 81 shots) and .972 on midrange and long-range combined. Per NHL EDGE IQ, he ranks second in offensive zone save percentage at .941.
His plus-9 goal differential ties for eighth league-wide. Wallstedt benefits from elite support, including Kirill Kaprizov (17 goals, tied for fourth) and a young core featuring Matt Boldy, Zeev Buium and Brock Faber. The Wild hold the seventh-best power-play percentage at 23.7.
Since November 1, Minnesota is 12-1-2, earning points in 14 of 15 games and tying Colorado for the most points (26). They allow the fewest goals per game (1.60), lead in shutouts (five) and rank second on the penalty kill (92.5 percent).