Goaltending prospect gets two-year deal to show he's worthy of the starting role with Calgary Flames
Dustin Wolf's accomplishments are impressive. But for the Calgary Flames' likely starting goaltender this season, they've all been in the minor leagues or major junior.
The 23-year-old Wolf earned a two-year contract with an $850,000 AAV from the franchise that believed in him enough to take a flyer on the 'undersized' netminder as their seventh-round pick in 2019.
They watched as he overcame the odds and flourished in the American Hockey League with the Stockton Heat and Calgary Wranglers and hope he can do the same with the NHL Flames.
He was the AHL's goaltender of the year as a rookie in 2021-11 and dominated again in 2022-23 — leading the league in wins (42), shutouts (seven), goals-against average (2.09), and save percentage (.932). Not only did he claim the top goalie award for a second consecutive season, he earned the Les Cunningham Award as the AHL’s most valuable player.
(The Flames press release announcing the new deal reminded everyone that that the last AHL goalie to win MVP was current Flames goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera 20 years ago in 2004.)
With injuries and a front-office philosophy affording the prospect the opportunity to get more NHL action last season, Wolf did what he could on a team that traded away half of its starting defence and began a rebuild.
The product of Gilroy, Calif., played 17 games for the Flames and had mixed results. His 7-7-1 record was bolstered by a strong finish — with four-straight wins in his last four starts.
The first year of Wolf's new deal is a two-way, but there's little competition for reps right now with Dan Vladar coming off hip surgery and offseason signing Devin Cooley even more of an unknown NHL commodity.
The new two-year deal should give the Flames enough of an idea of what Wolf is actually capable of even with a less-than-impressive group of skaters in front of him.
If he is, the monetary value will be a great deal higher. Given his history, it would be unwise to bet against him in spite of his smaller stature.