Dustin Wolf isn’t sure exactly what he has planned for an encore in his second season of professional hockey, but he understands expectations have been raised after an impressive rookie campaign.
The Calgary Flames goalie prospect was 33-9-5 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage in 47 games for Stockton of the American Hockey League in 2021-22. He was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team, the AHL First All-Star Team, and won the Baz Bastien Memorial Award as the league’s top goaltender.
“You obviously expect more from yourself each and every year,” Wolf said. “I think throughout the season, there were moments that I probably wasn’t too happy with. There’s always room for improvement. I think coming into this year, it’s an even bigger opportunity for myself. Last year was all about proving myself at the next level and trying to get my feet wet with pro hockey.”
It’s fair to suggest Wolf did a little more than dipping a toe into the pro experience.
“In his year-end meeting, I said to him, ‘You’ve set that bar now and you’ve got to blow past that bar,'” Flames senior goalie coach Jordan Sigalet said. “The expectations are there. It’s about doing it again, and again, and making it to the NHL and playing some NHL games. You throw a dart at the board in the seventh round, you know the skillset is there. It’s a really good pick in that seventh round and it’s a steal for us.
Wolf, the no. 214 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, was the fourth-last player selected. The 21-year-old won back-to-back Del Wilson Trophies in 2019-20 and 2020-21 as the Western Hockey League goaltender of the year with Everett. He also won gold with the United States at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
“I think all season long, there were two or three times a game I was like, ‘How in the world did he save the puck?'” teammate and fellow Flames prospect Jakob Pelletier said. “I think for him, yeah he’s a small guy (6-foot, 156 pounds) but I compare him a little bit to Jonathan Quick (of the Los Angeles Kings). He’s so athletic, even though he’s out of position, he’s going to do anything to stop the puck. I think he’s small, yeah, but from what I’ve seen, he was the best goalie in the AHL and I think he’s going to be a pretty good goalie in the NHL as well.”
Calgary will find out soon enough.
The Flames are relocating their AHL team to Calgary, where Wolf is expected to start the season. He’ll be able to show his progression to the organization on a more regular, in-person basis.
“I think there’s always the expectation to come back better each and every year,” Wolf said. “I’m the hardest person on myself when it comes to performing. I think the more you look at it now, the more knowledge and experience does you wonder.
“This year is a pretty big year for myself. Hopefully set the bar high and give myself a good opportunity.”
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