How Dustin Wolf’s confident, competitive nature put him in the Calder race – and the Flames in the playoff race
“It comes from within.”
During a phone call with Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf last week, that phrase came up multiple times. Whether it was describing how he’s dealt with the pressure of being a rookie goalie while playing a huge role in getting the Flames close to making the playoffs for the first time in three years, or describing his work ethic and desire to be the best, it was clear that Wolf already has the self-recognition, composure and confidence of a goaltender with 10 times his experience.
It’s easy to see why Wolf has managed a consistent level of play across multiple levels of hockey so early on in his career. In four seasons and 149 games in the WHL with the Everett Silvertips, he had a .935 save percentage, two Del Wilson Trophies as the WHL’s best goaltender in 2020 and 2021, and one CHL Goaltender of the Year award in 2020. In four seasons and 141 games in the AHL with the Stockton Heat and Calgary Wranglers, he had a .926 SV%, two Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Awards as the AHL’s best goaltender in 2022 and 2023, along with a Les Cunningham Award as the AHL MVP in 2023.
And now in his first full NHL season, he’s ninth in the league with a .912 SV%, a key cog on what has been a surprisingly competitive Flames team, and he’s been in the conversation for the Calder Trophy all season. No matter what level Wolf plays at, he’s adapted almost immediately and played like one of the better goalies in the league.
That’s not to say that there aren’t adjustments to be made, but Wolf has been pretty quick to clue in on them, and that hasn’t changed him.
“That’s managing how deep or how far out I’d play in my net, finding ways to see pucks through screens more effectively, finding sightlines better than I have in the past, and just being aware of what’s going on around me,” Wolf told Daily Faceoff last week. “Things happen so fast, and if you don’t have an idea of what’s going on behind you or around you, they can make you look silly.”
“The biggest thing I’ve felt with Dustin is that he’s just himself,” said Flames goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera. “He’s obviously had a lot of success in juniors and the American [Hockey] League, and he’s come up to the NHL and he hasn’t changed anything, he’s just being himself. I think that’s a big part of why he’s had success, because he believes in himself. He’s got such a good mindset to how he needs to approach things and how he handles things – good, bad or indifferent.”
Of course, the transition to the NHL level wasn’t perfect for Wolf. Due to several injuries to then-Flames starter Jacob Markstrom in the 2023-24 season, Wolf bounced between the AHL and NHL that season, with the inconsistencies leading him to have his worst save percentage across any season at any junior or pro level – an .893 SV% with the Flames. It also led to his “worst” AHL save percentage in his career, a still-incredible .922 mark in 36 games. Wolf admitted at the time that going back-and-forth between the two leagues was tough to truly settle down to one style of game.
“You’re bouncing back and forth, playing some games up, playing some games down,” Wolf said. “It was always an adjustment period every time where you go from the best league in the world to a level that’s still very, very good, but you still have a lot of young players that are still trying to develop.”
Now that he’s at the NHL level full-time, it shows how important just being in one place is for him. Not only has he had an excellent seasons by the standards of a rookie goaltender in the NHL, he’s been playing like one of the best goaltenders in the league.
Through 41 games, Wolf has a goals saved above expected of +25.49, the fourth-best in the NHL. But not only is that one of the best marks in the league this season, it’s actually the best ever by a rookie goaltender since the stat began being tracked in 2007-08. Only seven rookie goaltenders have ever finished above +15 in that stat, and none has even hit +20 until Wolf this season.
Rookie goalies with more than a +15 GSAx in a season (since 2007-08)
| Goalie | Season | GSAx |
| Dustin Wolf | 2024-25 | 25.49 |
| Stuart Skinner | 2022-23 | 18.4 |
| Tuukka Rask | 2009-10 | 18.05 |
| Cory Schneider | 2010-11 | 18.02 |
| Matt Murray | 2016-17 | 16.99 |
| Al Montoya | 2010-11 | 15.75 |
| Juuse Saros | 2017-18 | 15.05 |
Of course, there are plenty of things that need to fall in place for a goalie to really capture the attention of voters and win the Calder Trophy. Not only do they need to play well, they need to end up in a position where they can take the starting position and somehow do so on a team that’s contending for the playoffs.
It’s why a goaltender hasn’t won the award since 2009, when Steve Mason took the reins and helped the Columbus Blue Jackets to their first playoff appearance in franchise history. In 61 games that season, he had a .916 SV% – although he also only had a -0.76 GSAx, which was behind Pekka Rinne and Jonathan Quick in terms of rookie goalies getting regular starts.
It’s not just that so few goalies win the award; so few end up as finalists in the first place. Since Mason’s win in 2009, only Jimmy Howard, Jordan Binnington, Alex Nedeljkovic, and Stuart Skinner have finished second or third in Calder voting. Finishing in the top three alone will be an accomplishment for Wolf, but considering he’s making modern rookie goaltending history – at least analytically – that may not be enough recognition.
Of course, he’s got some tough competition in the rookie class this year. The recent first-overall pick in Macklin Celebrini has been similar to Wolf in his seamless transition to the NHL level with 21 goals and 50 points in 56 games with the San Jose Sharks (the 11th-best point-per-game pace by a rookie in the salary cap era), and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson has had the most productive rookie season from a blueliner (outside of Cale Makar’s 2019-20 season) with 55 points in 69 games. And that’s not including Matvei Michkov, who’s managed 20 goals and 47 points in 67 games with the Philadelphia Flyers and is bound to steal some votes from Wolf when the ballots are due.
But only Hutson has something in common with Wolf among this rookie class, and it’s why the Flames netminder isn’t even focused on the Calder Trophy race – his team is in the hunt for the playoff race.
“It’d definitely be cool [to win the Calder],” Wolf said. “The main goal right now is to keep fighting to get into the playoffs. If we do get in, that would probably help my odds. But at the end of the day, I’m trying to keep as many pucks out of my net as I can, and if people watch me play and believe that I’m doing an excellent job as a first-year guy, then I’d certainly be blessed to receive it.”
The Flames currently find themselves amidst a four-horse race for the final Wildcard spot in the Western Conference, with their 73 points sitting two behind the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues, and two ahead of the Utah Hockey Club. However, Calgary still has 15 games remaining on its schedule, while Vancouver and Utah have 14 and St. Louis has 13, so it’s still anybody’s race.
The fact that the Flames are fighting for their playoff lives this late in a season where they were expected to contend for the first-overall pick is found money, but a look at their underlying numbers certainly indicates that they are a team closer to what was expected of them. They’re only 27th in the league in 5v5 expected goals for per 60 minutes with 2.32, 21st in 5v5 expected goals against per 60 with 2.57, and overall, they’re 25th in 5v5 expected goal share with 47.47%. That’s a bit off from their current playoff rivals too, as Utah is 11th with 51.98%, St. Louis is 16th with 50.21%, and Vancouver is 21st with 49.3%.
What’s kept the Flames in the race in spite of the poor underlying numbers has been their goaltending, which ranks second in the league in team SV% at 5v5 with .927. And it’s something a lot of Wolf’s team recognizes and appreciates.
“There’s been nights this year where he’s allowed our team to get our feet underneath us when we weren’t playing at our best,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “I think he’s showed his teammates more so than anything that, ‘I can do this, I’ve got your back.’ “
“You don’t always get this [from a young goaltender], but he understands the time of the game,” said center Nazem Kadri. “When you make a big save, or when the team needs a big boost, he usually comes up big for us. He’s ready for that opportunity, that moment.”
“He’s special,” said left winger Jonathan Huberdeau. “His confidence amazes me. He comes in and knows he can stop every puck, and he’s so quick in front of the net. It gives us a lot of confidence.”
Of course, that reliance can be too much of a crutch. Before Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the New York Rangers, the Flames found themselves amidst a spiral of seven losses in nine games. It’s not that Wolf played poorly during that stretch (he still had a .907 SV% and 5.7 GSAx in the seven games he played), but the fact that he was merely human made it tough for the Flames to leave games with wins. They sit last in goals for per game at 2.54 this season, so as a whole, Wolf has very little margin for error to get the win every night.
And yet, that pressure doesn’t bother him at all, because he knows that it’s not the outside opinions that dictate the pressure on himself, it comes from within, and how he manages that every night is crucial to his game.
“I want to be the best out there each and every night,” Wolf said. “It’s a process, not every game is going to go exactly how you planned.”
It’s a level of work ethic that you’d expect from a significantly more experienced goaltender, but it’s what has allowed him to get to where he is right now. He attributes some of that to the fact that his father Mike, a software engineer, and mother Michelle, a veterinarian, had to do the same as he grew up in California.
“My parents have worked very hard. I wouldn’t say they’re super well off in that department, so any time I got an opportunity, I wanted to work hard and earn everything I got,” said Wolf. “At the end of the day, I think it just comes from within where, it doesn’t matter what it is, if it’s playing hockey or a board game, that’s just how I’m written, where I want to win and I don’t want to end up losing at all.
“Sure, there’s opportunities to learn throughout hockey, and there’s going to be plenty of learning opportunities for me throughout my career. I think that’s the best part. You come to the rink every day, and you learn something new about yourself or your team.”
And so, as the Flames play out their final 15 games of the season with their playoff hopes in the balance, you can bet that Wolf will be in the zone and enjoying every minute of it.
“Coming into the season, everyone doubted us as a group, and on a personal level, everyone’s doubted me since I can even remember,” Wolf said. “It’s fun to go out there and show people that they’re wrong.”
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