Calgary Flames recall Dustin Wolf from AHL’s Wranglers, Jacob Markstrom out day-to-day with lower body injury

The Calgary Flames have summoned their top prospect from their top affiliate club. Per the club, the Flames have recalled goaltender Dustin Wolf from the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers. Top netminder Jacob Markstrom is said to be day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Since Markstrom’s injury puts the Flames below the minimum lineup requirement of two healthy goaltenders, this is considered an emergency recall for Wolf. It’s the fifth recall of the season for Wolf; three previous were related to Markstrom’s availability, while the fourth was due to an injury to Vladar.

A seventh-round selection of the Flames in the 2019 NHL Draft, and the fourth-from-last player taken that year, Wolf has emerged as a really, really good goaltending prospect. In the four full seasons he’s played since being drafted, he’s been named the goaltender of the year in the league he’s been playing in for each season. He was also the AHL’s most valuable player last season. He’s achieved everything but playoff glory at hockey’s lower levels; the WHL didn’t have a post-season in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic, while Stockton was knocked out in the conference final round in 2022 (by Chicago) and the Wranglers in the division final round in 2023 (by Coachella Valley).

Wolf was recalled twice in 2022-23, making his NHL debut in the final game of the regular season. He’s appeared six times for the Flames this season, posting a 1-3-1 record with a 3.91 goals against average and .878 save percentage. He hasn’t exactly set the world on fire quite yet, but he’s a third-year pro who’s just dipping his toe into the NHL waters. In 35 AHL appearances this season, Wolf has gone 20-11-3 with a 2.43 goals against average, .923 save percentage and four shutouts. While he’s posted losses in his last four starts for the Wranglers, he’s still in the AHL’s top 10 in minutes played, shutouts, wins, goals against average and save percentage – and that’s despite spending a month of the season in the NHL.

We’ll see precisely how long Markstrom is out and how the Flames divide up duties between Wolf and Dan Vladar while he’s unavailable.