When the Calgary Flames traded Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils back in June, two thoughts probably crossed the minds of Flames fans: “It’s time to see what Dustin Wolf can do!” And “Is he ready?”
Well, through the first quarter of the 2024-25 season, it sure does seem like he’s ready.
Over at Daily Faceoff, their staff put together their first quarter awards ballots, with seven writers taking part. Dustin Wolf was their choice for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie.
Here’s how things shook out:
Wolf was well-received amongst our voters, as five of the seven gave him a first-place vote to make him the heavy favorite in the early parts of the season. It was quite close between him and Michkov, especially considering how vital both players have been to their new teams, but Wolf is already playing like an elite goaltender, and as a result, the Flames are much higher in the standings than many expected.
After spending about a third of the 2023-24 season with the Flames as an injury call-up in place of Dan Vladar and Jacob Markstrom at various points, Wolf has formed half of a really effective netminding tandem with Vladar this season. Through 12 appearances in net, Wolf has posted an 8-3-1 record with a 2.47 goals against average, .921 save percentage and one shutout.
Wolf currently leads all rookie goaltenders in the NHL in minutes played, wins, shutouts, save percentage and goals against average. In short: he’s playing really well. Heck, he’s among the top goalies in the entire NHL – of any experience level – in five-on-five save percentage. Simply put, he’s one of the reasons the Flames are in a playoff spot after 23 games.
Flames head coach Ryan Huska also received consideration for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach, though the DFO staff voted Winnipeg’s Scott Arniel as the top coach thus far.
