Goalies Stock Watch: This is Jesper Wallstedt’s world, we’re just living in it

Each November marks an inflection point in the hockey world. This is usually when teams start to determine their outlook for the rest of the season, whether as contenders or retoolers. 

November tends to be a transitional period for goaltenders, too. Statistically, this is when most goaltenders’ save percentages tend to regress to the mean. However, there’s already been a good handful of goalies who’ve begun their season red-hot, and others who have seemingly forgotten to turn on their furnace for the winter.

Alongside regular season action, there was also the CHL USA Prospects Challenge, which offered a look at four of the top Canadian and American-based goaltenders of this draft class.

Without further ado, here’s the past month in goaltending. 

Stock Rising 📈

Jesper Wallstedt, G, Minnesota Wild

The pressure on Jesper Wallstedt could not have been greater heading into this season. Off the back of a season to forget in Iowa last year, one riddled with injury and inconsistency. It led us at Elite Prospects to rank the once 20th overall selection as just the 14th-best goalie prospect heading into the 2025-26 season. 

Wallstedt was finally afforded a real opportunity to make the Minnesota Wild with Marc-André Fleury’s retirement this season. Naturally, there remained questions as to whether the struggling blue-chip could find his game all while facing a jump in competition. However, the ‘Wall of St. Paul’ has proven to be load-bearing, carrying the Wild throughout the start of the season. He’s amassed an 8-0-2 record over his first 10 games this season, posting four shutouts and securing a .944 save percentage. Whatever nagging issues he dealt with last season, whether physical ailments or mental funk, seem non-existent now. 

Wallstedt has been exceptional at defending shots from the outside, only allowing goals from the slot or right behind the net this season. Last season, Wallstedt looked lumbering, and as such, he struggled to stretch across to stop passes backdoor. This year, he seems much more confident in his movement, has faster reactions, and even looks a bit more mobile on ice, which helps him clean up that hole in his game. The areas he’ll need to clean up the most are moving quicker into his RVH with the puck behind the net, as well as comp.

Should Wallstedt continue his hot start, he won’t only be playing himself into consideration for the Calder Trophy but also as a legitimate option for Team Sweden at the Olympics, given the slow starts of fellow countrymen Linus Ullmark and Jacob Markstrom; only continuing to prove his doubters, including at times ourselves, wrong. 

Brady Knowling, G, US National Team Development Program (2026 NHL Draft)

At the end of last season, Brady Knowling was a player I had on my personal watchlist due to several factors, namely his size and pedigree with the U.S. National Team Development Program. From the games I had watched, however, it looked as though the product from Toronto, ON, was still a ways away from being closer to a sure thing. However, with each passing tournament or event, Knowling has taken large steps toward becoming a more reliable goaltender.

His play at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge at the tail end of November stood out tremendously, posting a .955 save percentage, stopping 42 of 44 for the NTDP’s first win in event history. His puck tracking was noticeable, reading releases and following through the point of impact. His anticipation has taken a step, too, scanning frequently in the corners to better prepare for the play ahead. His rebound control and composure were also positives, which seemed to give his team a lot of confidence as the game went on.

His hands still need some work, as his stance has him covering his pad with his blocker. He’ll also need to work on catching more consistently with his glove, as pucks tend to just bounce out of his glove with how he angles it. Furthermore, he’ll need to improve on his edges, as he still seems to struggle to get pushes off at times. That being said, Knowling’s recent development, sure, has not gone unnoticed and has moved him into consideration for a Top-75 spot as of right now. 

The Victoriaville Tigres tandem

Last season, if you saw a Victoriaville Tigres game, you were pretty much guaranteed plenty of action. Unfortunately, if you were a fan or player of the team, you can probably attest that most of it was going against the Tigres and their starting goaltender, Gabriel D’Aigle. Throughout D’Aigle’s entire time with the team, things seemed to be going downhill for him and the Tigres’ play. While the team is far away from contention, the addition of some key imports up front and a reliable backup goaltender in 2026 NHL draft-eligible Anthony Catanzariti, the Tigres’ goaltending is holding down the fort. 

D’Aigle has been playing the best hockey of his junior career, posting a .895 save percentage over his first 17 games of the QMJHL season while averaging just under 37 shots a night. Unlike in seasons before, D’Aigle’s focus has remained throughout the game, keeping games tight. Furthermore, he’s seen improvements in technique and movement discipline.

As for his backup, Catanzariti has been finding success, with a .901 save percentage over 10 games and averaging just under 36 shots against. He’s a much more raw goaltender than D’Aigle, with nowhere near as good mobility; however, he’s thrived despite it due to a good stance, 6-foot-6 frame, impressive rebound control and doing well in scrambles. 

Given Catanzariti’s success and that it is D’Aigle’s last year before becoming an overager, I do wonder if we might see the Tigres split up this dynamic duo at the trade deadline, as a contending team could be inspired by D’Aigle’s strong play as of late. 

Honourable Mentions: Juuso Ainasto (2026 NHL Draft), Artyom Arzamastsev (2023 NHL Draft re-entry), Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings), Michael DiPietro (Boston Bruins), Olof Glifford (Florida Panthers), Rudy Guimond (Detroit Red Wings), Charles Menard (2026 NHL Draft), Matthew Minchak (2025 NHL Draft re-entry), Thomas Milic (Winnipeg Jets), Andrei Nikolayev (2027 NHL Draft), Kale Osipenko (2027 NHL Draft), Jackson Parsons (Ottawa Senators), Isak Posch (Colorado Avalanche), Tobias Tvrznik (2025 NHL Draft re-entry)

Stock Steady ↔️ 

Frantisek Poletin, G, Lahti Pelicans U20 (2026 NHL Draft)

After missing the last few months due to injury, Frantisek Poletin finally returned at the tail end of November. As he’s gotten back into the swing of things, it looks as though he has not been hindered by his previous ailment, moving with ease and showing off his flexibility on several extensions in his first few games back. That said, the missed time has meant that he was not able to work on improving many of the issues which currently hold him back, including his hand placement, edges and his glove hands. 

There’s no doubt Poletin remains a prospect to watch, and his play since returning has been one worthy of the C-grade that we gave him in our November rankings. That said, the onus will be on him to run away with the opportunity to play again and cement himself as one of the class’ best between the pipes. 

Stock Falling 📉 

Zachary Jovanovski, G, Guelph Storm (2026 NHL Draft)

Zachary Jovanovski came into the season as a B-grade prospect on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings in September. However, due to a rather underwhelming start to his 2025-26 campaign and a relatively questionable performance at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge, there’s no doubt his stock has taken a hit.

Statistically, he wasn’t that bad at the event, posting an .870 save percentage between the win in Game 2 and the loss in super overtime. However, the NTDP put a spotlight on weaknesses in Jovanovski’s game. Jovanovski struggled mightily with rebounds, frequently letting them bounce into traffic instead of swallowing them up or directing them. His decision-making was questionable too, pushing aggressively diagonally ahead of the player, losing his angle and thus giving short-side away–especially with his hands low. Even his tracking, which was previously highlighted as a key attribute of his, seemed off. 

Hopefully, for the young goaltender, this game ends up being one to shake off and build on rather than one to linger on. 

Vladislav Yermolenko, G, Niagara IceDogs (2026 NHL Draft)

After a hot start to his rookie OHL season, Belarusian 2026 NHL draft-eligible Vladislav Yermolenko has cooled off completely in November, posting an .872 save percentage over nine games that month. 

To start with the good, Yermolenko is one of the OHL’s speediest and most athletically gifted goaltenders. He relies on his mobility and flexibility in his game style, which tends to involve aggressive swings in depth. Generally, he plays rather deep, but will come out aggressively on challenges. When led astray positionally, he relies on his strong skating and his ability to stretch out quickly to make up the distance.

His rebound control, especially over the last month, has been a problem. He’s struggled to suppress shots to his chest, keeping his chest up, causing the puck to bounce out and back into the slot. Additionally, his tendency to overuse sliding into saves has been exploited, too. When combined with a slow recovery time from his save attempts, Yermolenko has struggled to keep afloat in net-front flurries. Whether he can develop his composure will be crucial as to whether teams will give him the call on draft day or not.