Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt settles not a bit comfortably into backup role

Jesper Wallstedt joining Filip Gustavsson has long been the Wild’s plan for their goaltending after Marc-Andre Fleury retired.

Even last season, they anticipated juggling all three goalies to give Wallstedt NHL action and get him acclimated. But injuries amid a salary cap pinch meant the team couldn’t afford to keep Wallstedt on the roster consistently.

That’s not the case anymore, and with Fleury gone, Wallstedt finally can settle in as the Wild’s backup.

But the 22-year-old still feels he has to prove he belongs.

“You never know,” he said. “I wouldn’t say my spot is safe or anything. There’s a spot there, and it’s up to me to show I want to be that guy and I’m deserving of that spot.”

Wallstedt was in net for the Wild’s preseason opener Sunday at Winnipeg, making 21 saves in a 3-2 overtime victory after a summer spent preparing for the future and moving on from the past.

He arrived in the Twin Cities a month and a half ago, training with goaltending coach Frederic Chabot and working out in the gym with teammates. As soon as Gustavsson arrived, Wallstedt tried to set up tee times for the two to go golfing.

During the offseason, Wallstedt tried to focus on getting lighter and faster and putting last season behind him. After he was assigned to the minors, Wallstedt struggled on the ice during what he called an “all-time low” in which he was “lost in my own mind and my own game.”

Now, “I feel like head and body are in a really good spot,” said Wallstedt, who went 9-14-4 with an .879 save percentage and 3.59 goals-against average in 27 games with Iowa in the American Hockey League.

Since getting drafted in the first round in 2021, Wallstedt has appeared in five NHL games, but this will be his sixth professional season.

Before debuting in the AHL three years ago, he played two seasons in Sweden’s top league, and he believes that experience is an asset.

Behind Gustavsson, the Wild also have veteran Cal Petersen, who signed a one-year, one-way contract for $775,000.

Yakov Trenin scored twice against the Jets, who secured both of their goals in the first period beginning with a 5-on-3 power-play marker.

Vinnie Hinostroza and rookie Danila Yurov assisted on Trenin’s first goal early in the second period before Hunter Haight delivered the equalizer on the power play late in the third to continue his strong training camp. The 2022 second-round draft pick, a forward, also impressed at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase earlier this month, and he’s coming off a 20-goal campaign with Iowa, his first season as a pro.

BOXSCORE: Wild 3, Jets 2 (OT)

Trenin capped the Wild’s rally in overtime after the Wild killed off a penalty earlier in the extra session.

After getting outshot 9-3 in the first period, the Wild applied much more pressure in the second and third periods while playing a lineup composed mostly of prospects, two-way pros and camp invitees.

Mats Zuccarello is getting evaluated by an “out of town” doctor, coach John Hynes said, to determine whether the veteran winger will have surgery.

Zuccarello has been sidelined because of an undisclosed injury since the start of camp.

Nico Sturm has resumed practicing after a back issue limited the center earlier in camp.