Dustin Wolf discussion thread

[GullFoss]

I'm not an expert as assessing talent, nor do I have any expertise in playing/coaching the goalie position.

For those that do, what's your early take on Dustin Wolf? Does he look promising in this stretch of games to end the season?

I've noticed how small he looks in the net. While he makes up for some of his size with quickness, is he substantially disadvantaged (as a smaller goalie) with regards to pucks he can't see or to pucks that get tipped because he takes up less of the net? Is he also disadvantaged with regards to lateral movement because he has more distance to travel to move from one side of the net to the other? Is he also disadvantaged in being able to track pucks as well because it's harder for him to see pucks through traffic due to his lack of height?

Curious to hear everyone's take on this.

[Tbull8]

Yes to all of the above. Just like small players he will always have to prove he can play vs big players who have to prove they can’t. His size will always be a talking point, and I’m sure there will be times in his career that he gets beat because of it. But he’s also shown at every level, and his entire life, that he can overcome the disadvantages. He may never become a superstar top 5 nhl goalie, but I’m rooting for him, and I’m excited to see him prove people wrong yet again

[DeluxeMoustache]

He has looked very good when the team has played well

He has “struggled” when the team has played poorly in front of him

I’ve neither been as unimpressed or impressed with his performances as some

You can clearly see promise, and there is a lot of data yet to be gathered

So far, so good

[Cali Panthers Fan]

I could easily see 600 goals and 1300 points from him in his career.

[1qqaaz]

Someone who is 6'0.5 is 98% as tall as someone who is 6'2. I think people overstate the height thing with Wolf. Even though he's a goalie, he's not that far from the mean.

Phillips at 5'6? Yes, that's tiny and about 7 inches smaller than the NHL average. But Wolf is much closer to average, even for goalies, which have an NHL average of 6'2.5

[Cali Panthers Fan]

It's about the angles for shots up high and length along the ice. He has to move just that much quicker to stop those pucks that other goalies just have hit them by accident due to their size and position. His size is a disadvantage compared to those other goalies. 2 inches below the average height for goalies is significant. A puck only needs 1 inch to get by him. The only question is whether or not his quickness and agility make up for that enough, or better than some of the great goalies.

I'm inclined to think that Wolf is athletic enough to be at least an average NHL starter, and possibly even above average. Beyond that depends on how well he learns how to adapt to NHL shooters and playmaking tendencies. He seems to be a student of the game and anticipates well, so again, I think he has the ability to be great at the NHL level too.

Time will tell. He's definitely ready to be in the NHL full time from what I can see.

[Freddy]

I’m sure his size has been a disadvantage at every level he’s played his entire life and he’s found a way to dominate, not just excel, dominate every league. While the NHL is obviously the litmus test I believe he’s worth being patient for if success doesn’t come immediately.

[Roof-Daddy]

I dunno...

2019-20 WHL goalie of the year
2020-21 WHL goalie of the year
2019-20 CHL goalie of the year
2021-22 AHL goalie of the year
2022-23 AHL goalie of the year

Still ripping the AHL up this year too, and now starting to find his NHL mojo.

If this guy was 6'4 he'd be hands down the #1 ranked goalie prospect on the planet, and being 6'0 hasn't held him back at any level so far.

Hard to see him not being at the very least a serviceable NHL starting goaltender at this point. If he continues his trajectory he might be wining multiple Vezina's

Just sayin'....

[Infinit47]

It's a ton of fun to root for the underdog, same as it was with Gaudreau.

My concerns are how he handles NHL screens and tips. Both of these are dealt with by positioning and size. He is going to have to find a way to effectively battle through screens, and that will be a massive challenge.

Also, is he really 6', he sure looks smaller than Saros does who is listed as 5'11"?

[StrykerSteve]

Something tells me he’ll be just fine. Just a hunch.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

I dunno...

2019-20 WHL goalie of the year
2020-21 WHL goalie of the year
2019-20 CHL goalie of the year
2021-22 AHL goalie of the year
2022-23 AHL goalie of the year

Still ripping the AHL up this year too, and now starting to find his NHL mojo.

If this guy was 6'4 he'd be hands down the #1 ranked goalie prospect on the planet, and being 6'0 hasn't held him back at any level so far.

Hard to see him not being at the very least a serviceable NHL starting goaltender at this point. If he continues his trajectory he might be wining multiple Vezina's

Just sayin'....

His speed, agility, and hunger more than make up for additional size.

[Enoch Root]

There is no question that he is talented - his movement in the crease could be elite, as he has speed and control. His reactions are top shelf. Talentwise, he has the potential to be an all-star goalie.

Size does matter though. There is simply more net to shoot at when he is in there, than say, Markstrom or Vladar. So he will have to overcome that. Can he? We'll see.

One more thing: NHL shooters don't have a book on him yet, but will (probably to shoot over his shoulders), and when they do, he'll have to adjust. That probably happens next year, and then we watch over the next year or two to see how and if he adjusts, and how good he can become.

I think he is going to be a great goalie. But I also think the next 2 or 3 years are going to be bumpy, and he is going to hear a lot of doubting.

[Erick Estrada]

There's going to be games where he simply gets beat by precision shooting and that's just one of those things that he will have to have a short memory. He seems extremely quick laterally and is able to read the play quickly which are traits he needs to excel at to make up for his lack of size. The last few games show that he's close to ready to at least serve a backup role going forward.

[Groot]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...key-convention

Here's a great article talking about Saros. Shesterkin is mentioned as well. You can take a lot of the article and sub Wolf for Saros.

What makes this game special is the control and the patience....(his) threshold for 'goalie 911'—his threshold for panic—is so much later than everyone else's. He needs it every once in a while but not as early and not as often as a lot of goalies around the league. His ability to get to the edge of the crease and control that square and just hold there and wait everything out is as good as anyone in the league. Maybe [Igor] Shesterkin might be the only other one who sort of is at that [level]."

They possess many of the same attributes as their taller counterparts. They just don't have the height. There are some smaller goalies who are capable of moving better than the bigger ones, but the most important aspect is their intelligence and their ability to read plays. If they can do those things, then they can play goalie at nearly any height.

The reading ability of plays is so important, whether you're small or big. The one thing that they have to be really good at is that. And then, instead of just being big and blocking, their hand-eye coordination off of tracking releases is as critical as well. They can't just kind of go down and just fill space; they've got to be able to read the release.

"Big goalies, when they're younger, they don't have to perfect these things," Woodley said. "They get away with more. Pucks just hit them. They didn't have to refine their technique to the degree that a guy like Saros would have had to in order to continue to move up levels as the smallest guy."

[Ashes]

His athleticism is impossible to ignore when you're watching him. There's going to be some perfect shots that might go over his shoulder from time to time which wouldn't happen with a 6'6 monster in the net. However, there's also going to be cross-crease chances and second attempts that Wolf can move across and save, which larger goaltenders wouldn't be able to do with their lesser mobility.

He's the most fun goalie I can remember watching since Kipper for me, I hope he keeps getting more games over the next few years and really establishes himself. Sky is the limit.

[Leeman4Gilmour]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

Someone who is 6'0.5 is 98% as tall as someone who is 6'2. I think people overstate the height thing with Wolf. Even though he's a goalie, he's not that far from the mean.

Phillips at 5'6? Yes, that's tiny and about 7 inches smaller than the NHL average. But Wolf is much closer to average, even for goalies, which have an NHL average of 6'2.5

Numbers wise, this is obviously correct. At 6' he isn't "that" small. But, man, does he ever look small. He's listed as taller than Saros, but it just doesn't look like it. I don't know if they are lying about his height or it's because he's so slight still.

I was behind the net at the Canadiens game and it didn't take me long to feel the same way I did for all the years with Kiprusoff. You just get used to him making all saves look easy. It's pretty calming.

[8sPOT]

I think even if Wolf becomes a legit starter and top goalie in the NHL, there will still be articles talking about his size etc.

Probably gave him an advantage in the mental side of the game though, always seeing his size brought up and people doubting him.

[PepsiFree]

I made a point the other day of going back and forth between clips of Wolf and Saros and they look virtually identical. Saros looked slightly “bigger” but not in height, it seemed almost as though his shoulder and chest protector were wider/fuller.

Either way, from the way they play and move to how they take up space, they look really similar. I don’t know why Wolf’s size is such a pervasive topic when there are already guys in the NHL around the same.

Maybe he looks smaller to Flames’ fans because we’re used to watching 6’6” Markstrom.

Either way, the size issue has been completely put to bed over the last two games. I don’t expect it will actually go away, but anyone doubting him because of his size now has nothing real to go off of.

[PeteMoss]

I think its likely as well that a lot more of the goals he gives up will get blamed on his height/size rather than whatever else. That screen goal by the Canadians happens against a lot of goalies no matter their size, but with Wolf its a height issue.

[Wastedyouth]

Is there a goalie now or in the last 20 years that has the hardware this kid has?

I doubt it.