Minnesota Wild: Top 10 Goalies in Franchise History
By Cody Defoe
![ST. PAUL, MN - DECEMBER 17: John Curry #33 of the Minnesota Wild warms up prior to the game against the Boston Bruins on December 17, 2014 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) ST. PAUL, MN - DECEMBER 17: John Curry #33 of the Minnesota Wild warms up prior to the game against the Boston Bruins on December 17, 2014 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/53572444345d87b9f8568fd1756b3a89d37b4919baeb14e3bb36d52b1800f3a9.jpg)
#9 – Alex Stalock (2016-Present)
The 2016 Offseason saw the Minnesota Wild look to add depth to a shallow goaltending situation. Behind Dubnyk and Kuemper, the team had no NHL ready goalies should a scenario arise. This resulted in the team signing veteran career backup Alex Stalock.
Stalock was brought in on a two-way contract to compete with Darcy Kuemper for the backup goalie spot, but also to be a veteran leader for the young Iowa Wild in the AHL.
In 2017-18 we saw Stalock ascend to the backup role after the departure of Kuemper. It was a roller coaster year for Stalock, as he saw highs (first career shutout against the Toronto Maple Leafs, his former team), and lows (7 goals against on 28 shots in an early season start against Winnipeg).
In December, Devan Dubnyk went down with an undisclosed injury which resulted in Stalock being named the starter in Doobie’s absence. Dubnyk would miss 7 games, and Stalock started all of them, going 3-4-0 including the aforementioned Toronto game.
Stalock struggled through the year to establish himself when given opportunities, only once managing to record consecutive victories. Despite this, when he was on his game it was enough to bring attention from the Wild faithful, as fans are excited at the prospect of him growing within the organization
It’s still early in his Wild career, and Stalock is still young enough (by goalie standards) to have a breakout year ahead of him. Keep a close eye on him, because there is a chance we could see him climb these rankings in the coming years.