On Monday the Portland Winterhawks made a trade with the Moose Jaw Warriors for Jesper Wallstedt, a highly touted 2021 NHL Draft prospect, in exchange for a 2023 sixth round draft pick along with several conditional selections.
Wallstedt, a 2002-born goalie from Sweden, is the top ranked European goalie on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings. A native of Västerås, Sweden, the 6-foot-3, 214-pound netminder is not signed to a WHL contract.
The Winterhawks will make their attempt to sign Wallstedt after the Warriors, who selected him 46th overall in the 2019 CHL Import Draft, were unable to.
In 2020-2021 he played for Lulea HF in the SHL, Sweden’s top hockey league, where he posted a 2.23 GAA and .908 SV% in 22 games played. Additionally, Wallstedt was named to Sweden’s World Juniors roster where he played in two games.
The most recent World Juniors tournament was not his first time representing Sweden at the international level. He has a bronze and gold medal from the U18 World Juniors in back-to-back years. Wallstedt again picked up a bronze medal at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Import Draft implications
Portland still has two imports on its roster in Jonas Brøndberg and Simon Knak. Only two import players are allowed per team; however, the CHL makes a few exceptions for teams to temporarily have a third player on their protected list.
The first exception that impacts the Winterhawks is the 20-year-old rule. Since Brøndberg would be an overager in 2021-2022, the CHL allows teams to make a selection in the Import Draft in case the overager does not return.
Portland was in a similar situation prior to the 2018 Import Draft as Joachim Blichfeld was 20 years old. The Winterhawks were allowed to draft both Dean Schwenninger and Michal Kvasnica. When Blichfeld was returned by the San Jose Sharks, Portland released Schwenninger to get back down to the limit of two.
Second is the exception the CHL allows when a player is selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. Wallstedt is without a doubt expected to hear his name called within the first 32 selections on July 23rd.
Portland again has recent history with this exception when Henri Jokiharju was chosen by the Chicago Blackhawks 29th overall in 2017. Therefore, even though a younger Blichfeld and Jokiharju were both on the Winterhawks roster, general manager Mike Johnston selected Samuel Fagemo in the import draft.
When Jokiharju did not make Chicago’s NHL lineup and returned to Portland, the Winterhawks dropped Fagemo to meet the requirements.
Import Draft question marks
The entire Import Draft process is complicated and is only made more so this year given the timing. Typically, the NHL Entry Draft occurs first and the Import Draft follows. This year, due to the Entry Draft being delayed, the Import Draft will arrive first in late June.
Portland will surely be make a selection in the first round; however, the team could also end up making a second.
Simon Knak is questionable to return to the Rose City.
There are multiple options for where the Switzerland native can play his 2021-2022 hockey.
Without a doubt the Winterhawks would welcome him back to their lineup after leading the team in goal scoring (16) and finishing second in points (29). However, there is the thought that he has accomplished everything he sought out to do when signing with the Winterhawks. After not being selected in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Knak is expected to hear his name called in the middle rounds this year.
The 6-foot-1, 192-pound winger is eligible to play in the AHL as a 19-year-old since he falls outside the CHL/NHL agreement. Making the NHL may be a stretch, but it is a possibility for Knak.
Perhaps the most likely landing spot, though, could be back in his native country. Prior to the beginning of the Winterhawks’ 2021 season, Knak played with HC Davos in the top men’s league in Switzerland.
There are only a couple of weeks before the Import Draft occurs, so Portland will seek an answer from Knak and his agent on what his plans are for 2021-2022.
Should he elect to return to Switzerland, hope for the AHL or NHL, or perhaps another pro league, Portland would release his rights and make two selections in the Import Draft.
2021-2022 Goalies
With the addition of Wallstedt, should he be signed, the Winterhawks would have four goalies on their roster: last year’s starter Dante Giannuzzi, backup Brock Gould, and signed prospect Lochlan Gordon.
Gould will be a 20-year-old and could potentially be returned back to Moose Jaw. Teams do not often keep an overage goalies unless he is a starter. With Giannuzzi holding the title currently, it is hard to see Gould making next year’s final roster.
Giannuzzi had a strong 18-year-old season for the Winterhawks, appearing in 20 of the 24 games. The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native demonstrated he was a number one caliber WHL goalie when he played 1,178 minutes, faced 531 shots, and finished with a 2.60 GAA and 0.904 SV%. The Winterhawks would have a strong one-two tandem with Giannuzzi and Wallstedt.
Gordon, a third-round selection in the 2018 bantam draft, will be an 18-year-old next season. He has yet to appear in a regular season game for Portland.
Needless to say, despite being the offseason, Mike Johnston and his staff are busy with difficult decisions as they prepare for the 2021-2022 season.
