While it was likely the fulfillment of a small dream he’d had at some point, to see his nickname and image emblazoned on a T-shirt, Wild rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt was a little confused about the protocol.
When he got to the team’s locker room before Friday’s showdown with previously red-hot Colorado, every stall in the room had a T-shirt in it featuring the words, “The Wall of St. Paul” and an illustration of Wallstedt doing his signature postgame celebration, which is part fist pump and part thrust with his stick like you might see from a fencer.
Following the Wild’s 3-2 shootout win, which lifted his record to 7-0-2, Wallstedt said he knew the T-shirts existed but was a little surprised to see many of his teammates wearing them before facing the Avalanche.
“I saw it on Instagram or something, I got tagged in it, I think. And I thought it looked sick,” said Wallstedt. “And then I kind of, definitely did not expect it to be in the locker room. Kind of a weird feeling. I got in here and I’m like, I asked (Joel Eriksson Ek), ‘Am I supposed to wear it or is that kind of weird wearing your own shirt?’ Yeah, so I ended up not wearing it.”
The way things are going for Wallstedt, who has solidly inserted himself into the conversation for NHL rookie of the year, he might be a rarity in Minnesota within the next few weeks, as the shirts are sure to be a popular holiday gift for the hard-to-please hockey fan on your list.
“I saw all the T-shirts around, but I’m going to have to get one,” Wild coach John Hynes said after the Colorado game. “I didn’t get one before the game but maybe now.”
Of course, because there are naysayers for just about anything in this modern world where opinions are shared, perhaps a bit too freely, Avalanche radio voice Conor McGahey took exception to Wallstedt’s postgame celebration, as Minnesota handed Colorado its first loss of any kind since Nov. 1.
“He celebrates like he’s won the Stanley Cup,” McGahey said on the team’s radio broadcast on Altitude Sports Radio. “He has not.”
In a later post on X, McGahey opined that Wallstedt’s celebration was a “little much.” Those words drew plenty of opinions for and against that seemed to be split based on whether you live on the east or west side of an imaginary line drawn somewhere roughly near York, Neb.
Wallstedt said he did not know the exact origin of his signature celebration, but fans can expect it to continue as long as he keeps winning.
“I think I’ve kind of seen it probably when I was younger in the NHL or somewhere else,” he said. “I thought it looked cool. I don’t think a lot of other goalies do it right now, so maybe it’s my thing right now.”
Williamson remembered as Team USA alumni gather in St. Paul
Now less than a month before the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship comes to the Twin Cities for the first time since 1982, the Wild celebrated Team USA Night at Grand Casino Arena on Saturday. Fans could buy a special ticket package featuring a replica of defenseman Zeev Buium’s Team USA jersey from last season when he was a part of the gold-medal winning team at the 2025 World Juniors.
Next door to the arena at the Wild’s team offices, dozens of USA Hockey alumni from past Olympics and World Juniors gathered to share stories and help promote the 2026 games, which will be played in St. Paul and Minneapolis starting on Dec. 26.
Lou Nanne welcomed all of the current and former players and acknowledged Murray Williamson, the former Gophers standout who coached Team USA in two Olympics and is widely credited with helping start the first World Junior tournament 50 years ago.
Williamson died on Sept. 15 at age 91. Nanne said Williamson was greatly looking forward to the 2026 tournament and bringing it back to Minnesota. He added that the foundation for the two consecutive gold medals won by the Americans was laid by the alumni in the room on Saturday.
“Today’s players stand on the shoulders of all of you here tonight, and the others you played alongside,” Nanne said. “We want to thank you for being a part of USA Hockey and being here tonight.”
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