“Bookman? The library investigator’s name is actually Bookman? That’s amazing. That’s like an ice cream man named Cone.” – Cosmo Kramer
It has to be a good omen when a goalie prospect has the word “wall” in his surname as is the case with the top ranked goalie prospect of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft: Jesper Wallstedt. The Swedish-born netminder is projected to go anywhere in the 5-15 range this month when the NHL holds its virtual draft over the course of the 23rd and 24th. While the Sabres don’t currently have a pick in that range, it’s entirely possible they’ll pick up another selection via trade in the coming weeks leading up to the draft.
Wallstedt’s tape shows a player who plays with an extreme sense of calm almost to the point of the highlight packages appearing boring (which is meant as a compliment). Wallstedt works the bottom of the net extremely well and his 214 pound frame allows him to take away a good amount of the top of the net while he’s on his knees. After watching a good amount of tape on Wallstedt you get to a point where it all kinds of blends together. He tracks pucks extremely well, he transitions from standing to butterfly well, and he operates in extremely well from his knees and his uses his frame to take away opportunity. There’s not a lot of flash and sizzle as he is usually in the right place at the right time with his glove in the right place for a save if need be.
It’s important to remember, of course, that Wallstedt’s job is to keep the puck out of the net, not to be a superstar acrobatic entertainer. He plays a calm, disciplined game which is not a knock on him.
That said, the position of goaltender in the NHL has become somewhat cookie cutter with the nearly ubiquitous butterfly style employed by the majority of NHL goaltenders leading to large positional goaltenders occupying the lion’s share of starting gigs. The flair and personality of goalies has been flattened to maximize high-percentage saves, while the coaching and equipment has progressed to such an extent that positional goaltending has all but eliminated the reactionary antics of the earlier ages. There was a time even 25 years ago where a fan could see a healthy mix of different goaltending styles from the reactionary to the positional. The last true hybrid goalie as far as I’m concerned was Tim Thomas who played a style that teammate Patrice Bergeron dubbed the “battlefly.”
There is some disagreement on the style-of-play definitions for goaltender, but in general, the 3 styles are “standup,” “butterfly” and “hybrid.” The standup goaltender has been extinct for at least 20 years and as far as I’m concerned, so is the hybrid goaltender. The hybrid goaltender returns to his feet more often than the “pro-fly” butterfly goatender of today which results in most modern goalies tending the crease from their knees.
The height of an NHL goalie plays a large part in the evolution of the position as goalie height has increased rapidly over the past 30 years to a point where now it’s fairly rare to have a goalie under the 6’ mark. There are exceptions of course, like the Nashville Predators Juuse Saros who clocks in a tick under that benchmark at 5’11” but he is in pretty rare company these days. The Sabres had 5’10” Jhonas Enroth play for them not that long ago but height has quickly progressed to be an important attribute and the league tends to squeeze out shorter players in favor of more massive goaltenders who can eat up more real estate in the crease. It’s almost a necessity for the modern butterfly goaltender to be above 6’1”. The top-10 2021 draft eligible goalies as determined by Mike Morreale at NHL.com has the shortest goalie on their list as 6’1” which gives a pretty good indication as to the future of the position.
For those curious as to who holds the record for smallest goalie in league history, that honor belongs to Roy “Shrimp” Worters. He is believed to be not only the shortest goalie in NHL history, but also perhaps the shortest player ever to play in the league, period. The 5’3” goaltender played parts of 13 seasons in the NHL between 1925 and 1936.
Wallstedt has good goalie height at 6’3” although it’s not the elite goalie height of a Ben Bishop who measures in at 6’7” or fellow draft eligible prospect Gage Alexander who also has a listed height of 6’7”. That’s not to say that 6’3” is in any way problematic as it happens to be the height of the two goalies currently playing in the Stanley Cup Final: Andrei Vasilevskiy and Carey Price. Wallstedt looks like a terrific modern goaltending prospect, but I think I’ll end it here as there are only so many ways to say he plays a terrific, calm positional game and he looks like he has all the makings of a starting-caliber NHL goalie
Let’s see what the experts have to say:
Alexander Appleyard (smahtscouting.com):
First and foremost – somewhat appropriately considering he lives just 90 miles south of the Arctic Circle – the Stockholm born prospect is so cool as to appear ice cold between the posts. It does not seem that anything can ruffle his feathers. A crowded crease, one-on-ones, a barrage of shots, or quiet periods. No matter what is happening in front of him Wallstedt is locked in. His poise is exceptional.
Alongside his mental fortitude, the Swede possesses a technical game that most NHL starters would be jealous of. He rarely needs to make big saves, or rely on athleticism, because his skating ability and anticipation leave him in the perfect position to deal with shots simply the majority of the time. As with most modern goalies his base set is Reverse-VH when players get in close on his peripheries, and he is a master at the age of 18.
Matthew Zator (thehockeywriters.com):
Following 2020 NHL Draft standout Yaroslav Askarov, Swedish goaltender Jesper Wallstedt will look to become the next big goaltending prospect to come out of the European circuit. He could actually become even bigger than Askarov when all is said and done. Yes, he’s that good. All the superlatives you can think of apply to Wallstedt. He’s quick laterally, strong on his skates, almost perfect technically, and finally, never gives up on a play. He’s also calm as a cucumber, possesses a lightning-quick glove hand, and can handle the puck efficiently outside of his crease. Basically, what I am saying is, there are not many weaknesses to his game.
Steve Kournianos (thedraftanalyst.com):
Wallstedt is like most notable Swedish goalies in that he uses a standard butterfly style and classifies as an “inside-out” — meaning he sets up from the goal line and moves towards the top of the crease when he deems it necessary. One of several significant aspects of Wallstedt’s “style” as a teenager is that he is incredibly consistent with his deep-in-the-crease preferences and doesn’t seem to switch back and forth from attack mode to staying deep. He’s stays narrow and upright as the puck moves east to west from up high, then he quickly drops (and stays) into his Reverse Vertical-Horizontal (RVH) once the puck drops below the faceoff dots. He’s more aggressive on breakaways but you’ll rarely see Wallstedt challenge a shooter beyond the top of the blue paint.
Buffalo Sabres Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»