[devo22]

glad that it's official - finally! For those who haven't read the other thread in detail, here's a scouting report by world class European scout devo22:

he isn't the best skater, but he has improved in that area. I won't comment on the "dumb meathead" because it's just wrong on every level.

Also, from what I've read about him, it feels like Wolf is a prototypical Hartley player. The first things that are always mentioned to describe him seem to be hard working, good attitude, gritty, wears his heart on his sleeve. Hartley loves players like that. He's big and gritty enough to play a bottom six role, plus he has some offense to work with. I just don't see the risk. As many others have mentioned, worst case is he doesn't pan out and goes back to Europe. All the Flames have to give up is a roster spot, and I don't see an issue with that. I'd rather give a contract to someone like Wolf than the Bryan Camerons, David Eddys and James Martins that were signed out of junior in the past.

It's really hard to say how those guys handle the transition to NA hockey. He has made big strides over the last couple of years, he really benefited from playing on a line with Flaake and Festerling in Hamburg. I think he could be a solid 3rd liner, but that's his ceiling in my opinion. Wolf-Stajan-Bouma sounds like a great 3rd line if you ask me ... you'd get grit, energy, two-play and some scoring with a line like that.

As to the question whether he's dirty. From the games I've seen, no I wouldn't call him dirty in general. Thing is he's an extremely physical player who likes to go the dirty areas and who isn't shy of scrums, pushing and shoving etc. He can be like a bull in a china shop out there. I believe the NA game will suit his playing style a bit more than the DEL.

Also worth noting is that he's a guy that has been known for having a short fuse in the past and I think other teams liked to provoke him. He's improved in that area though. In one of the PO games against Ingolstadt, however, he was given a misconduct after banging his stick on the glass in frustration ... because an opposing fan spit on him.

and a really nice piece from a German newspaper about his background:

In Iserlohn, David Wolf did not find any new friends. For the fans of the Iserlohn Roosters, the left wing of the Hamburg Freezers was the enemy number one; nobody was booed and insulted as passionately as the 24-year-old. But Wolf is used to the feeling. These days he shows his typical smile when he thinks of the six games against Iserlohn - and the fact that he would not be provoked with only one exception. "If you look at the statistics, I did not do a lot wrong", says the former penalty king.

This is an understatement: Wolf, a tough fighter and fearless hustler in front of goal, was the outstanding player of the quarter-final series of the DEL; in the six games he scored four goals and five assists. As a result, the Freezers have reached the DEL semifinals for the second time in the club's history. For many, Hamburg is the number one contender for this year's title.

As a part of the famous first line with Jerome Flaake and Garrett Festerling, Wolf was already stellar in past seasons. But something was missing. "I was not a leader", says Wolf. That has changed this season. "David has matured and grown", said coach Benoit Laporte on his favorite roughneck. At one time, Wolf described his play as following: "Sometimes I have to specifically target a guy - skate to him, knock him down, done."

No wonder that the Islerlohn fans do not like him in particular. His colleague Flaake says: "David is one of those guys that you rather have on your own team." Meanwhile, Laporte has taught his "Bad Boy" how to play smartly. His number of penalty minutes has reached an acceptable level. In training, his teammates have accepted his big mouth and small provocations.

Wolf can convincingly explain where the aggression comes from. Child of divorce, troubled adolescence, a sick mother: little David often resorted to his fists to deal with his problems. "Brawls on the street were normal", he says. But Wolf, 6'3 and 218, is also a thinker. "I used to think about every missed opportunity after a game," he says. Working with a mental coach since 2012 has given him much more balance. "I have a thicker skin now", says Wolf. "Things do not drive me up the wall as quickly any more."

In addition, Wolf stands for the new Freezers identity. Three years ago, they shifted their focus to young German players - now Wolf, Flaake, Festerling, Oppenheimer, and the slightly older Schubert form the cornerstone of a team with title aspirations. You could often see the players bonding after training at their favourite restaurant "Venezia".

"Hockey is my life", says a tattoo on Wolf's left upper arm, and the language of this sentence could soon dictate his life. It is believed that there is an offer from the Calgary Flames of the NHL for the upcoming season. Wolf does not want to reveal too much, as he is still under contract with the Freezers until 2018. "Several NHL clubs have scouted me over the past two years," he says, "but there is nothing more to say." With his physicality and his courage, Wolf would probably be a great NHL player.