[News] With the 214th OA pick, the Flames select G Dustin Wolf

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by transplant99

If he was 4" taller he would be the best NHL prospect in the world.

Really encouraging how steady he has been though. Could be a homerun pick.

If he was 4” taller he wouldn’t have dropped to the 7th round

[transplant99]

Correct.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Freddy

I’d love to see a picture of Wolf between Markstrom and Vladar in all their gear just to get perspective of how much less surface area he’s working with. Wolf must be an incredible athlete and competitor to be posting the results he has consistently had.

The Marksman, Vader, and the Wolfman.

We need them all on a T-shirt underneath a moon.

[1qqaaz]

I think this should be Wolf's last year in the AHL. But Vladar has another year left.
Markstrom has 4 years left after this year and a full NMC.

I'm guessing Wolf will play in the AHL next year. Maybe they'll trade Vladar's rights when he's an RFA.

Wolf would then be Markstrom's backup for a year, then split games for a year, then take the majority of the starts on Markstrom's last year of the contract.

I hope this is how it all turns out.

[Roof-Daddy]

Nothing wrong with Wolf staying in the AHL for two full seasons even if he is dominating that league.

It's a huge bonus that the Flames don't have to rush him.

[Enoch Root]

If you watch him play, there is open net up high. I still fear that NHL shooters will exploit that.

There is no question that his athleticism and positioning are elite - he's really good. But that size differential matters. It's part of the game now. It is not a coincidence that the league is full of 6'7" goalies now.



Not saying it's impossible, but it is a factor against him.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

I think this should be Wolf's last year in the AHL. But Vladar has another year left.
Markstrom has 4 years left after this year and a full NMC.

I'm guessing Wolf will play in the AHL next year. Maybe they'll trade Vladar's rights when he's an RFA.

Wolf would then be Markstrom's backup for a year, then split games for a year, then take the majority of the starts on Markstrom's last year of the contract.

I hope this is how it all turns out.

He still needs to dominate another year of the AHL. Far too many times have we seen a grand year turn into mediocrity the next. Let’s not count the chickens before they hatch. Not only that, but Markstrom throughout his career has had a few injuries, so you can’t really count on him always being healthy. We should get a good look at Wolf pronto, assuming the worst. If no injuries with goaltending, then allow him to dominate in Stockton.

[Tkachukwagon]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

If you watch him play, there is open net up high. I still fear that NHL shooters will exploit that.

There is no question that his athleticism and positioning are elite - he's really good. But that size differential matters. It's part of the game now. It is not a coincidence that the league is full of 6'7" goalies now.



Not saying it's impossible, but it is a factor against him.

Juuse Saros is 5'10" and rocking a 0.925 SV% after 22 games this year. I agree that Wolf has a tougher road ahead of him that someone who is 6'7", but Saros is a guy that's shorter than Wolf and putting up amazing numbers in the NHL.

https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/50744/juuse-saros

[Bingo]

So far he's very much a don't bet against him type of personality.

Hope that continues, would be a heck of a story.

[Reggie Dunlop]

History is strewn with perennial AHL All Star goalies with spotty tenures in The Show.

To Wolf's advantage is his youth.

As long as he can keep pucks out he's got a chance.

[jessnuts]

Originally Posted by Muta

The Marksman, Vader, and the Wolfman.

We need them all on a T-shirt underneath a moon.

That's no moon. It's a space station.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

If you watch him play, there is open net up high. I still fear that NHL shooters will exploit that.

There is no question that his athleticism and positioning are elite - he's really good. But that size differential matters. It's part of the game now. It is not a coincidence that the league is full of 6'7" goalies now.



Not saying it's impossible, but it is a factor against him.

There is one 6'7" goalie in the NHL this year, and he's No Good™.

There are 8 goalies who have played at least 5 games this season who are at least 6'5" and 19 who are at least 6'4" (of 66 total goalies who have played at least 5 games).


The super-tall goalies tend to get exploited on high shots as well because their style tends to leave a couple of inches between the top of their shoulders and the bottom of the crossbar. At the lower levels, the shooters aren't good enough to exploit that regularly. In the NHL, they are.


The bulk of the goalies in the NHL are in the 6'2" - 6'3" range. Dryden and Murray are the only Cup-winning goalies listed at 6'4" and they're the tallest to ever win the Cup.


Wolf is much shorter than the biggest goalies in the league, but he's not significantly shorter than a lot of guys who have had success in the league.

[FBI]

What was Wolf ranked on our prospect pool?

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by FBI

What was Wolf ranked on our prospect pool?

2021 Ranking:
1. Coronato, Matthew 44%
2. Zary, Connor 65%
3. Pelletier, Jacob 86%
4. Wolf, Dustin 40%
5. Vladar, Daniel 45%
6. Mackey, Connor 38%
7. Stromgren, William 26%
8. Kuznetsov, Yan 36%
9. Ruzicka, Adam 27%
10. Kinnvall, Johannes 29%
11. Heineman, Emil 38%
12. Francis, Ryan 30%
13. Poirier, Jeremie 46%
14. Phillips, Matthew 38%
15. Pospisil, Martin 34%
16. Pettersen, Emilio Mathias 59%
17. Gawdin, Glen 28%
18. Jordan, Cole (Run Off)
19. Huckins, Cole (Run Off)
20. Parsons, Tyler 28%
21. Whynot, Cameron (Run Off)
22. Kerins, Rory (Run Off)
23. Chechelev, Daniil 26%
24. Zavagorodny, Dmitry 28%
25. Solovyov, Ilya 35%
26. Beck, Jack 42%
27. Nikolaev, Ilya 43%
28. Werner, Adam 26%
29. Philp, Luke 30%
30. Boltmann, Jake 33%
31. Tuulola, Eetu 26%
32. Nodler, Josh (Run Off)
33. Sergeev, Arseni (Run Off)
34. Poolman, Colton 30%
35. Ciona, Lucas 41%
36. Feuk, Lucas 35%
37. Yelesin, Alexander Run Off
38. Kirkland, Justin Run Off

[1qqaaz]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

He still needs to dominate another year of the AHL. Far too many times have we seen a grand year turn into mediocrity the next. Let’s not count the chickens before they hatch. Not only that, but Markstrom throughout his career has had a few injuries, so you can’t really count on him always being healthy. We should get a good look at Wolf pronto, assuming the worst. If no injuries with goaltending, then allow him to dominate in Stockton.

Evidently this isn't true.

Nearly every elite goalie in the NHL played in the NHL by the time they were 21 years old.
I was going to list them all, but it really is almost all of them. Shesterkin was a bit older at 23.

I'm not saying Wolf should be a regular NHLer next year. But I do think he should at least get a game.
But even now he's likely 3rd on the depth chart. So if there's an injury he could play in the NHL this year.

[talladega.25]

Do we look at trading him? While his stock is extremely high, we have Markstrom for 4 more years and Vladar in the system. Thoughts?

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by talladega.25

Do we look at trading him? While his stock is extremely high, we have Markstrom for 4 more years and Vladar in the system. Thoughts?

It would be the most Flames thing ever to trade the best goalie prospect they've had in 30 years before he ever played a game.

[FlamesAddiction]

I saw Wolf is listed at 6'0" now, which isn't big for a goalie, but it's not freakishly small like I thought he was going to be.

I recall seeing pictures of him with his parents after his draft and they were the shorter than him at that point. I thought that there was no way he would reach 6'0" at the time.

It puts him in the realm of guys like Halak, Holtby, Quick, Grubrauer, Shesterkin, Saros, Khudobin, Georgiev, Nedeljkovic, Raanta, DeSmith, Bernier, Dell, and Hutton, who are all listed between 5'11" and 6'1".

Some pretty good goalies in that list.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

It would be the most Flames thing ever to trade the best goalie prospect they've had in 30 years before he ever played a game.

Based on what?

I honestly don't remember them trading a top prospect in a long long time.

If they believe his game won't translate that would be a great move. If they think his game will translate, but like Vladar better, still a good move.

If they think Wolf is their future starter ... don't do it.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Based on what?

I honestly don't remember them trading a top prospect in a long long time.

If they believe his game won't translate that would be a great move. If they think his game will translate, but like Vladar better, still a good move.

If they think Wolf is their future starter ... don't do it.

They've had so many near-misses with star goalies over the years is all I meant. Giguere, Roloson, Brodeur, Anderson.