Goaltender Niklas Svedberg could walk around the Twin Cities in broad daylight and easily go unnoticed. He isn’t exactly a household name around these parts after spending the past two years playing in Russia.

That said, there’s a chance the 28-year-old Swede could be the solution to the backup goaltender problem that plagued the Wild all of last season.

Coach Bruce Boudreau was frustrated with the erractic play he got from last year’s backup, Darcy Kuemper, who signed with the Los Angeles Kings in the offseason.

“It is really important to get somebody at the top of their game … and not floundering,” Boudreau said. “We need that to give (starter Devan Dubnyk) a mental rest. You’re looking at somebody playing 25 games, and that’s a lot of games we have to have confidence in.”

At this point, it comes down to Svedberg or South St. Paul native Alex Stalock, 30, to back up Dubnyk. Stalock has the inside track, but the Wild signed Svedberg to a one-year, two-way contract for a reason.

“I think it’s a battle,” Boudreau said. “I mean, nobody has been given the job. … Svedberg is going to get a chance, Stalock is going to get a chance, and then one of them is going to get another complete game after that, and it’s probably going to be the one who’s playing better.”

Svedberg’s audition started Monday night when he was expected to split time with Steve Michalek in the Wild’s exhibition opener in Winnipeg against the Jets.

“It feels good to be back,” said Svedberg, who spent the past two years playing for Salavet Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). “It was interesting years in Russia and I learned a lot and I became a better player because of it. It’s good to be back here now on a smaller rink and everything. I like it.”

Svedberg last played in the NHL as a member of the Boston Bruins organization after signing as a free agent out of Sweden in 2012. He battled his way through the minors and served as Tuukka Rask’s Bruins backup during the 2014-15 season, posting a 7-5-1 record.

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“I had pretty good confidence when I left,” Svedberg said. “I played a lot in Russia as a starter, and that was really helpful. It’s a tough schedule there, too, and I played a lot of games over two years. … It’s obviously different from backing up. It’s nice to play consistently. It’s also tough. There are difficulties with both position.”

That said, Svedberg has accepted the fact that his position with the Wild will be as the backup should he beat out Stalock for the job.

“There are a lot of good goalies here” Svedberg said. “All I can do is focus on my own play and in the end it’s up to the coaches and the upper management with who they want to go with. I’m trying to focus on my game.”