Kristen ShiltonDec 17, 2025, 07:00 AM ETCloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.Follow on X
play0:29Marchenko puts Columbus ahead in shootout, Greaves finishes with saveMarchenko puts Columbus ahead in shootout, Greaves finishes with save
Marchenko puts Columbus ahead in shootout, Greaves finishes with saveMarchenko puts Columbus ahead in shootout, Greaves finishes with save
play0:11Jesper Wallstedt makes big-time save vs. JetsJesper Wallstedt makes beautiful save
play0:21Brandon Bussi robs Predators with saveBrandon Bussi robs Predators with save
play0:32Dennis Hildeby makes big-time save vs. SharksDennis Hildeby robs Sharks with save
play0:26Yaroslav Askarov makes beautiful saveYaroslav Askarov makes beautiful save
play0:16Spencer Knight makes beautiful saveSpencer Knight makes beautiful save
play0:21Dan Vladar robs Golden Knights with saveDan Vladar robs Golden Knights with save
Spencer Knight makes beautiful save (0:27)Spencer Knight makes beautiful save (0:27)
There’s a new sheriff in the State of Hockey. And a Swedish one, at that. His name? Jesper Wallstedt.
But you can call him The Wall of St. Paul. His teammates do. It’s a nickname befitting of a Minnesota Wild goaltender who’s rewriting the franchise’s rookie record books as one of the league’s breakout stars.
The Wild even made T-shirts to show their support. Wallstedt just wasn’t sure whether to join in on the fun or not.
“I have no idea where it came from,” Wallstedt said last month after several Minnesota players began wearing the shirts. “I got in here and I’m like, ‘Am I supposed to wear it, or is that kind of weird wearing your own shirt?’ So, I ended up not wearing it.”
Wallstedt’s play has been advertisement enough. He’s at the top of a goaltending wave bringing several new freshmen to light in the season’s first half, along with resurgent campaigns from some familiar faces.
It’s almost a mystery how these things work. Goaltending is a complicated job, after all. Goalies have to account for hundreds of different skaters on the attack, all of whom have studied that player in the crease in search of ways to beat him.
That’s pressure enough — and granted, goaltenders are a particular breed unto themselves and often boast of unique journeys to their jobs in the league.
“[Part of] what you’re seeing now is that it takes a good three to five years of development for goalies,” former NHL goaltender Martin Biron said of this current freshman class. “And now with the amount of goalies being used during the season you see that there is some good quality from those drafts from 2019 to 2021.”
It’s part of what makes the position so fascinating, particularly this season where we’ve seen everything from the upstarts shining (Devin Cooley has been a bright spot for Calgary) to veteran No. 1s having career years (stick taps to Logan Thompson). There have been just nine rookie goalies to appear in at least 41 games of a full season for their teams since 2019-20; there could be half that many alone this season.
We may never know why. But here is a non-comprehensive look at the unexpected who’s who of the goaltending world.
Wallstedt’s signature celebration is to pretend to shoot an arrow. It could just as easily be a dagger — bursting the bubble of an opponent trying to score.
Not everyone approves of Wallstedt’s enthusiastic response to a win. But the 23-year-old is having a moment, and won’t be changing things up anytime soon.
Wallstedt turned heads from the get-go this season after having just five career NHL starts to his credit prior to 2025-26, amounting to a 2-3-0 mark with .877 SV% and 3.44 GAA. If anything, Wallstedt was tabbed as a capable backup partner for Filip Gustavsson; instead, Wallstedt has become his own one-man show.
There was always the potential for Wallstedt to be a burgeoning star in the league. He was a top youth goalie in Sweden, appearing on national teams and debuting with the SHL’s Lulea HF at just 17 years old. Minnesota hopped past Edmonton in the 2021 draft to select Wallstedt, making him the first Swedish goalie to be drafted in the first round. That alone was an accomplishment. But coming to North America wouldn’t be without difficulties.
Wallstedt’s transition from Sweden to the Wild’s American Hockey League affiliate in Iowa was fine at first. He produced a .908 SV% his first season there, and improved to .910 the one after that. He was an AHL All-Star selection. By the 2024-25 season, Minnesota had Marc-Andre Fleury and Gustavsson sharing the net.
The numbers show how Wallstedt persevered to become this season’s goalie sensation. And Minnesota is hoping he’s just getting started. The Wild are third in the Central Division and have appeared increasingly confident right along with their goaltender. If Wallstedt continues to shine, there’s no telling how far he can help carry the Wild this season.
Jesper Wallstedt makes big-time save vs. JetsJesper Wallstedt makes beautiful save
In early October, Bussi was facing an uncertain future. Little did he know it would include etching his name in the NHL record books.
That feat is impressive on its own. It’s even more impressive considering Bussi came to Carolina with zero NHL experience — but he is not technically a rookie. In order to qualify for freshman status with the league, players have to be under 26 years old on Sept. 15 of a season. Bussi turned 27 in June. Age is just a number, though, and we are not beholden to such parameters here, so Bussi gets grouped into the rookie class. But the first-year netminder hasn’t played like a newbie at all.
Carolina couldn’t have anticipated leaning on Bussi like it has. But Andersen — ironically one of the other five goalies that also recorded nine wins in his first 10 career games — has struggled this season (going 5-7-2 with an .875 SV%) and if not for Bussi, Carolina could have taken a tumble while Kochetkov recovers.
If he keeps that up, time will tell what the Hurricanes goalie rotation looks like when all are healthy — and how many wins Bussi can string together as this season’s Cinderella story.
Brandon Bussi robs Predators with saveBrandon Bussi robs Predators with save
His 6-foot-7 hulking frame seems in direct contradiction to his quiet, unassuming personality. But the man affectionately known as “Hildebeast” didn’t earn the moniker by running his mouth. He has done it by using that big body to make the Toronto Maple Leafs’ net look small — and hold some of the league’s best scorers at bay.
The Leafs have been in a goaltending bind throughout the season. Would-be No. 1 Anthony Stolarz was average out of the gate and then got hurt; he hasn’t suited up since Nov. 11 while nursing an upper-body injury. Joseph Woll took over from there after returning from a personal leave of absence, and Hildeby — a fourth-round draft choice by the Leafs in 2022 with just six NHL games to his credit — tagged in on clean-up duty and a few back-to-backs.
It was Toronto’s alarming defensive issues — they were second in shots against per game and fourth in goals against per game through the end of November — that stood out most, wasting quality starts from Hildeby, who was 1-2-1 with a .914 SV% supporting Woll.
When Woll also hit the sideline with a lower-body injury last week, Toronto had no choice but to put their full faith in Hildeby. That has paid off.
He made nine saves in relief of Woll to preserve a 5-1 victory for the Leafs over Carolina, and was their No. 1 from there: Hildeby backstopped Toronto to a frustrating 2-1 shootout loss to Montreal, blanked the Tampa Bay Lightning in a hard-fought 2-0 victory, stood on his head to get the Leafs a point in their 3-2 overtime loss to San Jose and was hung out to dry in Edmonton’s 6-3 rout of Toronto.
Hildeby deserved better than a 1-1-2 record in those starts, given his .934 SV% and 2.34 GAA. It’s a small sample size, but Hildeby ranks second in save percentage among goalies with at least 10 starts (.923).
More than that, he has been consistently good for a club that has only recently showed defensive improvements — although the Leafs have begun to backslide in that department again.
Hildeby needs a reliable partner, too. But even though Woll is ready, it’ll be tough for coach Craig Berube to take the reins from Hildeby entirely given how he has exceeded expectations.
Dennis Hildeby makes big-time save vs. SharksDennis Hildeby robs Sharks with save
Askarov might be playing in his first full NHL season, but you’d be forgiven for mistaking him for a veteran.
The team is 22nd in offense this season — averaging 2.88 goals per game — and has relied on Macklin Celebrini’s sensational start (with 47 points through 33 games) and Askarov’s netminding to continue punching above their weight class in the Western Conference. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a 23-year-old goaltender, but Askarov was ready to take on a bigger role in the NHL.
Originally drafted 11th overall by Nashville in 2020, Askarov felt pushed aside when the organization signed Juuse Saros to an eight-year contract extension in 2024 and inked Scott Wedgewood to be his backup. Askarov requested a trade, and the Sharks were all-in. After making 13 starts for San Jose last season, going 4-6-2 with an .896 SV%, Askarov is blossoming at just the right time to give the Sharks some hope for the present and future.
Yaroslav Askarov makes beautiful saveYaroslav Askarov makes beautiful save
Some great player stories end with a thud or turn out to be a flash in the pan. Greaves has been the opposite for Columbus.
Greaves was recalled from the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate late last season to bolster Columbus in the crease for the team’s final (albeit unsuccessful) playoff push.
That failure wasn’t for Greaves’ lack of effort, though. The netminder was 4-1-0 through April, with a .975 SV%. His final NHL stat line for the season: 7-2-2, with a .938 SV% and 1.91 GAA.
Greaves came into this current campaign in tandem with veteran Elvis Merzlikins, but quickly established himself as closer to the team’s No. 1. His numbers aren’t dazzling, with a .906 SV% and 2.75 GAA, but dig deeper and it’s clear Greaves is the difference-maker Columbus needs. He ranks eighth overall in goals saved above expectation and 10th in save percentage above expected on high-danger shots, per MoneyPuck.