[News] NHL.com: Top 23 and Under (now) Goalies, 3 Years From Now

[FanIn80]

They've been doing these alongside each of their Top 20 lists, but it's kind of a confusing premise. It's essentially who, among current 23 and Under players, will be the best of those players three years from now. The title they've given to this feature is not well written...

Anyway, finally some good news:

Dustin Wolf, Calgary Flames (22): A native of Gilroy, California, Wolf had a strong NHL debut, making 23 saves in a 3-1 win against the San Jose Sharks, who he grew up watching, on April 12. Not a bad outing for Wolf, who turned 22 four days after that game. He was just as good on a larger scale for Calgary, the Flames' AHL affiliate, where he went 42-10-2, leading the league in wins, GAA (2.09), save percentage (.932) and shutouts (seven). Selected in the seventh round (No. 214) of the 2019 NHL Draft, Wolf was also 5-4-0 with a 2.67 GAA, .912 save percentage and one shutout in nine Calder Cup playoff games. Not surprisingly, he won the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL's top goalie for the second consecutive season. Wolf should challenge for the backup role behind Flames starter Jacob Markstrom and should make a big impact with them in the future.

https://www.nhl.com/news/top-23-and-...ed/c-345620118

Edit: Also I just now figured out that these lists are actually ranked. They don't actually show a ranking on them at all, so I've been assuming they were just non-ordered lists... It turns out that the (22) for Wolf isn't his age (he actually is 22), it's his total vote-points, and the list is ordered from first to fifth, making Wolf #3.

[Sandman]

2.09 GAA, and a .932 save %. Absolutely gawdy numbers.

[Rick M.]

I suppose we should trade him, given he’s an American. ��. Am I doing this right? I’m all for keeping him because he’s from Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Sandman

2.09 GAA, and a .932 save %. Absolutely gawdy numbers.

Kipper-esque.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

Kipper-esque.

His play style reminds me of Quick a lot. Quick in his first year in the NHL had a .914sv%, and 2.48GAA. In his best season Quick posted a .929sv%. Wolf has the better AHL numbers though, so I really want this kid to pan out.

[FanIn80]

I mean, goalie MVPs (ie: Vezina or Baz winners) typically lead their league in one or two categories while also finishing very high in one or two other ones...

Wolf was #1 in the entire AHL in all four of Wins, GAA, SV% and Shutouts. That's literally every single major stat that a goalie is measured in. (Starts, MINs, SA and SVS being minor stats, but he was also #1 in each of those.)

Another crazy stat: Wolf won 42 games (55GP). Second place only won 27 (47GP)!

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

I mean, goalie MVPs (ie: Vezina or Baz winners) typically lead their league in one or two categories while also finishing very high in one or two other ones...

Wolf was #1 in the entire AHL in all four of Wins, GAA, SV% and Shutouts. That's literally every single major stat that a goalie is measured in. (Starts, MINs, SA and SVS being minor stats, but he was also #1 in each of those.)

Another crazy stat: Wolf won 42 games (55GP). Second place only won 27 (47GP)!

The only thing I can knit pick about Wolf was his performance in the Calder cup playoffs. He was 12th in both sv% of 0.912, and GAA 2.67. It's a small sample size, and he was still solid, but he wasn't as much of a difference maker as I thought he would be.

[Jay Random]

I only had the good fortune to attend one Wranglers playoff game, against Coachella Valley. The Wranglers were playing so loosey-goosey in their own end that night, I don't believe any goalie would have looked good. A veteran team with a veteran coach picked apart their defence and made them look like chumps. Since the Wranglers played 5 out of 9 playoff games against that one opponent, Wolf's numbers were bound to suffer.