Dustin Wolf Comparison

[dobbles]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Remember when Nail Yakupov was the #1 ranked prospect?

Nothing matters till he proves himself in the NHL. As Flames fans, we've been wounded deeply before by highly touted goaltending prospects falling flat on their face.

Which can't happen if they won't call him up. I just have trouble thinking of any other job where an employee has consistently been a top performer and would be so sheltered and delayed. People keep talking about not rushing him, but as a person, would you really want to be babied for as long as possible until a bunch of higher ups deem you as ready?

[Canada 02]

I don't see the problem with Wolf playing two full season's in the AHL. He will likely win the AHL equivalent of the Hart and Vezina. Carry the team to the best regular season in the league, and hopefully win a championship. That winning experience will carry him into next season to take one of the spots on the Flames.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by InternationalVillager

I think you just have to live in the present.

I’ve never seen a goalie with Wolf’s track record of accomplishments before playing a game in the NHL in the past 25 years.

Best goalie in the CHL
Best goalie in the AHL

Just curious, has there ever been a goalie with Wolfs stats at age 21 ever?

127W - 32L - 8T
2.11Gaa - 0.932Svs - 20SO

3 top goalie awards and soon to 4 plus a probable league MVP award

I haven't looked deep but I can't think of any goalies with those stat lines.

[Pickle Juice]

That’s kind of what I was getting at with this thread. I tried to look into some of the currant top tier goalies in the NHL and was able to find some with similar numbers but not the awards.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Just curious, has there ever been a goalie with Wolfs stats at age 21 ever?

127W - 32L - 8T
2.11Gaa - 0.932Svs - 20SO

3 top goalie awards and soon to 4 plus a probable league MVP award

I haven't looked deep but I can't think of any goalies with those stat lines.

Digging up specific stat lines would take more work than I can give it right now, however the only goalies to have won both CHL and AHL goalie of the year awards are
Felix Potvin (90-91, 91-92)
Corey Hirsch (91-92, 92-93)
Martin Biron (94-95, 98-99)
Jake Allen (09-10, 13-14)
Dustin Wolf (19-20, 21-22)

Only Felix Potvin (2 months younger) and Corey Hirsch (3 months younger) accomplished the feat of winning both the CHL and AHL goalie of the year awards younger than Dustin Wolf.

Only Mark Laforest and Jason LaBarbera have ever won AHL goalie of the year twice. Only Jason LaBarbera and Jean-Francois Labbe have won AHL Goalie of the Year and AHL MVP (Since 1990).

Were Wolf to win AHL Goalie of the Year again, and win the AHL MVP, he would be the first goalie to accomplish the CHL, AHLx2, and AHL MVP quad-fecta of awards.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by dobbles

Which can't happen if they won't call him up. I just have trouble thinking of any other job where an employee has consistently been a top performer and would be so sheltered and delayed. People keep talking about not rushing him, but as a person, would you really want to be babied for as long as possible until a bunch of higher ups deem you as ready?

Especially when the people ahead of you are underperforming so significantly.

[CalgaryFan1988]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

I think we got Dwayne Roloson when he was ~25. That guy turned out alright too.

You're right, he was 25.

The trifecta. draft Anderson(18), trade Giguere(20) and FA signing Roloson(25)

[P-DAZZLE]

Originally Posted by driveway

Digging up specific stat lines would take more work than I can give it right now, however the only goalies to have won both CHL and AHL goalie of the year awards are
Felix Potvin (90-91, 91-92)
Corey Hirsch (91-92, 92-93)
Martin Biron (94-95, 98-99)
Jake Allen (09-10, 13-14)
Dustin Wolf (19-20, 21-22)

Only Felix Potvin (2 months younger) and Corey Hirsch (3 months younger) accomplished the feat of winning both the CHL and AHL goalie of the year awards younger than Dustin Wolf.

Only Mark Laforest and Jason LaBarbera have ever won AHL goalie of the year twice. Only Jason LaBarbera and Jean-Francois Labbe have won AHL Goalie of the Year and AHL MVP (Since 1990).

Were Wolf to win AHL Goalie of the Year again, and win the AHL MVP, he would be the first goalie to accomplish the CHL, AHLx2, and AHL MVP quad-fecta of awards.

This isn't a list of bad goaltenders or total busts, but it's not the HOF-calibre group I was hoping for.

[InternationalVillager]

Originally Posted by P-DAZZLE

This isn't a list of bad goaltenders or total busts, but it's not the HOF-calibre group I was hoping for.

I think the only real comparisons are Martin Biron and Jake Allen.

Biron was stuck on some bad teams and Allen was stuck in a timeshare in the crease.

Both have had decent careers. Biron won 230 games. Allen is on track to win over 200+ as well.

Both have career SV% around .910.

[VilleN]

Originally Posted by dobbles

Which can't happen if they won't call him up. I just have trouble thinking of any other job where an employee has consistently been a top performer and would be so sheltered and delayed. People keep talking about not rushing him, but as a person, would you really want to be babied for as long as possible until a bunch of higher ups deem you as ready?

It seems to be the standard method with goalies. That position takes a bit more training than other positions. It's not like he's being handled differently than most goalies.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Just curious, has there ever been a goalie with Wolfs stats at age 21 ever?

127W - 32L - 8T
2.11Gaa - 0.932Svs - 20SO

3 top goalie awards and soon to 4 plus a probable league MVP award

I haven't looked deep but I can't think of any goalies with those stat lines.

In terms of AHL stats here are the best goalie stats for goalies Under 22 years old. (Regular season only)

Matt Murray: 72 GP, .936
Cam Ward: 52 GP, .936
Jaroslav Halak: 41 GP, .930
Kari Lehtonen, 96 GP, .928
Dustin Wolf, 100 GP, .927
Hannu Toivonen, 90 GP, .927
Jonathan Bernier, 115 GP, .927
Jusse Saros, 53 GP, .924
Magnus Hellberg, 39 GP, .924
Josh Harding, 80 GP, .924
Andrei Vasilevsky, 37 GP, .923

So that is pretty good company. Outside of Hellberg and Toivonen they all had pretty strong NHL success.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

I've gotten way too excited about way too many Flames goaltending prospects to give a crap until he's our starting goalie for a season and we make the playoffs.

He definitely has a lot of promise but with goalies it's so much of a mystery.

I wonder myself, why when you look at his 2018-19 numbers in Everett why was he a 7th rounder? His numbers were incredible. Like, why is he a 7th rounder with a 1.69 GAA and .930+ save percentage and Hunter Jones is a 2nd rounder with a 3.05 GAA and .902 Pct. Is it literally the height situation? How is he the last goalie taken in the entire draft?

Hunter Jones played this season in the ECHL, by the way. 3.08/.903

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

He definitely has a lot of promise but with goalies it's so much of a mystery.

I wonder myself, why when you look at his 2018-19 numbers in Everett why was he a 7th rounder? His numbers were incredible. Like, why is he a 7th rounder with a 1.69 GAA and .930+ save percentage and Hunter Jones is a 2nd rounder with a 3.05 GAA and .902 Pct. Is it literally the height situation? How is he the last goalie taken in the entire draft?

Hunter Jones played this season in the ECHL, by the way. 3.08/.903

Height.

And people thought he might be a product of a strong Everett system that just had Carter Hart putting up ridiculous numbers too.

[bluejays]

Where does Dustin Wolf rank in any major publications overall ranking of prospects?

[jatylo]

I watched most of the Wranglers games this year and wolf's lateral movement is one of the best that I have ever seen and compensates for his lack of size. Best part is that you can see that he is having fun out there.
Only weakness may be the battles in front of the net and tip ins

[PepsiFree]

Yeah, I think you have to actually go watch Wolf live to understand how good he is. Some things get through him because of his size but his movement/quickness alone would stand out among NHL goaltenders and I don’t think effort or skill is going to be an issue at all.

If guys like Saros can excel, so can Wolf. I’ve only watched him a few times but every time he has been on a completely different level than almost any other player on the ice.

[Redlan]

Originally Posted by bluejays

Where does Dustin Wolf rank in any major publications overall ranking of prospects?

In the top five.
Daily Faceoff: #1, "Wolf is the best goalie prospect in the world right now."

The Hockey Writers: #1, "Now in his second season in the AHL, Wolf has usurped Wallstedt and is now the NHL’s number-one goaltending prospect."

Athletic: #3, Feb 14, 2023 article (July 2022 rank: No. 4 (change: +1)) "Wolf has everything you look for in a top goalie prospect today except for the size...
There is no reason to believe he won’t be an NHL goalie. I’m confident he’s going to be a really good one, too. His time is coming."

[looooob]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

In terms of AHL stats here are the best goalie stats for goalies Under 22 years old. (Regular season only)

Matt Murray: 72 GP, .936
Cam Ward: 52 GP, .936
Jaroslav Halak: 41 GP, .930
Kari Lehtonen, 96 GP, .928
Dustin Wolf, 100 GP, .927
Hannu Toivonen, 90 GP, .927
Jonathan Bernier, 115 GP, .927
Jusse Saros, 53 GP, .924
Magnus Hellberg, 39 GP, .924
Josh Harding, 80 GP, .924
Andrei Vasilevsky, 37 GP, .923

So that is pretty good company. Outside of Hellberg and Toivonen they all had pretty strong NHL success.

of the top 50 in GP 21 and under (cumulative)

no one has more wins (no one really close-closest Rask) and most remarkably nobody with fewer losses

better GAA: Bernier, Noronen
better save pct Lehtonen (essentially dead heat Lehtonen/Bernier/Wolf)
https://quanthockey.com/ahl/en/playe...eer-stats.html

[ForeverFlameFan]

Wolf likely does not get called up until we are mathematically eliminated. If we do get eliminated, he deserves a game or two (depending on how many we have left). It's a reward for his stellar play, and as mentioned, would only be a confidence booster that we believe in the guy and want to give him more starts if he continues to play the way he's playing. Sky's the limit for him. Size is overrated.

[InternationalVillager]

I know it has been brought up multiple times as to why he went in the 7th round of the 2019 NHL Draft.

Well that was simple, with the information that NHL scouts had at the time, they never thought that Dustin Wolf would even be able to translate his game past the AHL, let alone be one of the best goalies ever to play in the AHL at his age group and win AHL Best Goalie of the Year x 2.

If the NHL scouts had this information available or had this foresight (let's say through time travel), Dustin Wolf would have gone top 10-15 in the Draft right up there with Spencer Knight. I feel that's where he is if there is a re-draft done today.