Jesper Wallstedt, Wild's top goalie prospect, scores empty-net goal on shot to remember

Jesper Wallstedt was in a win-win situation.

While in net last Saturday in the minors, the Wild's top goaltending prospect gloved down a dump-in with less than a minute to go in the third period and Iowa nursing a two-goal lead.

If he flung the puck down the ice into the empty net, he'd score a goal. And if he missed his target, Wallstedt wouldn't get called for icing since Iowa was on the penalty kill; the attempt would simply be an effective clear.

"It felt like the perfect opportunity," Wallstedt said.

He was right.

With 33 seconds remaining, Wallstedt sank an almost rink-length shot into the middle of the net to become the youngest goalie in American Hockey League history to score.

"I saw pretty early that it was tracking for the goal," he said by phone on Tuesday. "It was a good feeling. It felt pretty nice."

When he was 14 years old, he connected on a similar shot while playing in a junior league in Sweden.

"Maybe I had a little less speed on it because I probably wasn't as strong as I am now," Wallstedt said.

This isn't a play Wallstedt practices, but he didn't feel any pressure considering the circumstances with Iowa being shorthanded.

"It's quite a surreal feeling," said Wallstedt, who turned 20 on Monday. "You don't really expect it to happen."

His family and friends in Sweden were sleeping when Wallstedt scored but once they woke up, "my phone really started to go off," he said.

"To top it off with a goal is very, very special," he said.

That was Wallstedt's fourth game of the season, and he dropped his three previous starts in overtime.

Twice he gave up three goals and then surrendered five before this effort against Chicago. Making quick pushes around the crease and improving his speed have been Wallstedt's focus in his first AHL season after leaving Sweden.

"I feel like I'm growing every day, getting more and more routines in place, and slowly but surely putting piece by piece into the big puzzle," said Wallstedt, a first-round pick drafted by the Wild 20th overall in 2021.

And when it comes to offense, Wallstedt loves to try to contribute.

Maybe in the NHL?

"You can only hope for that."

Mason Shaw debuted a new number against the Predators, switching from 58 to 15 after the team recently told him he should find a place to live in Minnesota.

"[He's] deserving of being here for the rest of the year," coach Dean Evason told reporters in Nashville.

A fourth-round draft pick in 2017, Shaw was one of the final cuts at training camp but had been with the Wild ever since he was called up from the minors on Oct. 21 after Jordan Greenway was injured.

"It's definitely a very gratifying feeling to get to this point," Shaw said. "But I won't take my foot off the gas. Nothing really changes on or off the ice for me. It's the same player on the ice. I guess it's just nice to be able to get to this point, for sure. Kind of a dream come true."

Brandon Duhaime was back in action on Tuesday after he was sidelined five games with an upper-body injury.

"You hate to see your teammates battle without you," said Duhaime, who had two goals and an assist in 10 games before getting hurt. "Sitting in the stands is no fun. It's good to get a good rehab process going, and I feel great."