MINNESOTA WILD SELECTS GOALTENDER JESPER WALLSTEDT AND DEFENSEMAN CARSON LAMBOS IN THE FIRST ROUND OF 2021 NHL DRAFT
Jul 24, 2021SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Wild selected goaltender Jesper Wallstedt with the 20th overall selection and defenseman Carson Lambos with the 26th overall selection in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft tonight.
Minnesota acquired the 20th overall selection of the 2021 NHL Draft from Edmonton in exchange for the Wild’s first-round selection (22nd overall) and third-round selection (90th overall) of this year’s draft. Wallstedt, 18 (11/14/02), spent the 2020-21 season with Lulea of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and posted a 12-10-0 record with a 2.23 GAA, a .908 SV% and two shutouts in 22 games. The 6-foot-3, 214-pound native of Vasteras, Sweden, is the highest-drafted goaltender in Wild history and 16th all-time, second from Sweden. He becomes the first Swedish-born goalie to be selected in the first round of an NHL Draft. The left-glove backstop has represented Sweden in multiple events including the 2021 World Junior Championship and as part of Sweden’s gold medal team at the 2019 Under-18 World Championship.
“Jesper is a strong technical goaltender,” said Judd Brackett, Minnesota Wild Director of Amateur Scouting. “He is very mature, calm and well-seasoned.”
Lambos, 18 (1/14/03), spent the majority of the 2020-21 season on loan to JYP of the Finnish Junior League totaling 11 points (2-9=11) in 13 games. The 6-foot-1, 197-pound native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, also played in two games for the Winnipeg Ice in the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) bubble last season before having his season cut short due to injury. The left-shot blueliner recorded 32 points (8-24=32) in 57 games with Winnipeg during the 2019-20 campaign and led all WHL rookie defensemen in scoring. He represented Canada White at the 2017 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and was named a tournament all-star after registering five assists in six contests.
“Carson is a two-way, rugged, hard defender,” said Brackett. “He has a high compete level and excellent hockey sense.”
Minnesota currently owns six selections in rounds 2-7 in the 2021 NHL Draft, which starts tomorrow at 10 a.m. CT on NHL Network: #54 in the second round, #86 in the third round, #118 in the fourth round, #150 in the fifth round, #182 in the sixth round, and #214 in the seventh round.
Visit the Draft Central page on wild.com presented by Xcel Energy for the latest news on the 2021 NHL Draft.
Iowa Wild hockey is presented by MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. For more information, please visit www.iowawild.com.
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