Way, way back in 2019, the Calgary Flames drafted goaltender Dustin Wolf at 214th overall in the NHL Draft. That off-season, the FlamesNation staff put their collective noggins together and rated Wolf 14th in our annual prospect rankings.

Here we are, five years later, and Wolf has not only worked his way up the prospect rankings, but after a handful of seasons around the top of the rankings, he’s made the leap into the National Hockey League full time.

We’re at the point where Wolf has functionally graduated from being a prospect but he’s also managed to grab hold of the reins as the Flames’ top goaltender. How he managed to do all this is pretty interesting.

Wolf entered the 2023-24 season with very little left to prove at the American Hockey League level. In 2021-22, as a rookie, Wolf was named the AHL’s top goaltender. In 2022-23, as a sophomore, he was named both the circuit’s top goaltender and most valuable player.

2023-24 was a unique challenge for Wolf. After two seasons excelling at the AHL level, he was finally given a shot to prove himself in the NHL. But his NHL opportunities – plural – came as a series of short-term call-ups.

During his first four call-ups, Wolf was… fine. He showed flashes of brilliance, but he also looked overwhelmed at times – his one start during his fourth call-up saw him allow six goals against the San Jose Sharks.

But things turned around for Wolf on call-up number 5: he was initially brought up when Markstrom was injured (again), but when Markstrom returned the club shut down Vladar for the season so he could get hip surgery. As a result, Wolf was in the NHL for five weeks in a row. He didn’t get yo-yoed back and forth from the Wranglers anymore, and as a result he was probably able to get some routines going – goalies, even moreso than most athletes, are creatures of their routines and habits.

Perhaps because of moving up and down from the big club, Wolf’s numbers with the Wranglers were merely pretty good: he went 20-12-3, with a 2.45 goals against average, .922 save percentage and four shutouts. He was not the goalie of the year. But despite having a “down” year (by his lofty standards), only four goalies had more shutouts, only 10 had a better goals against average, only 14 had more wins, and only two had a better save percentage.

Wolf’s numbers in the NHL were, to be honest, pretty unremarkable. In 17 appearances, he went 7-7-1 with a 3.16 goals against average and .893 save percentage. While he seemed more comfortable in March and April – and you would expect his numbers to nudge up as a result – they didn’t really budge. He looked better, but playing behind a depleted Flames team he looked fairly ordinary.

During our summer rankings, after two seasons in top spot Wolf dropped to second behind 2024 first-rounder Zayne Parekh.

This will sound odd, but Wolf’s challenging 2023-24 season may have been the best thing to happen to him. The next-best thing was that the Flames traded Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey before the 2024 NHL Draft, which opened up an NHL roster spot for a goalie.

Wolf wasn’t great at the NHL level in 2023-24: that probably normalized expectations for his transition to full-time NHL duty. And the Flames were entering this season with a projected goaltending tandem of Wolf, who had 18 NHL games, and Vladar, who was coming off significant hip surgery in the spring. ESPN ranked their tandem 30th in the NHL heading into the season… and that probably wasn’t an unfair ranking based on the unknowns involved.

The Flames’ coaching staff did a great job with Wolf this season. They split starts between him and Vladar over the first 38 games evenly – 19 apiece. Wolf was put into positions where he could have success and build confidence. He was not built up as any kind of saviour prior to the season, so he was just able to… play.

By the time the calendar flipped over to 2025, two things became clear: the Flames were hanging around the playoff picture, and Wolf was quietly one of the better goaltenders in the NHL. Because of those two factors, Wolf has become leaned upon more and more for key starts against big opponents. He’s started 14 of the past 17 games – as a rookie, on a team that’s battling for a playoff spot – because he’s shown he gives his team a chance to win on a regular basis.

After an uneven introduction to the NHL last season, Wolf has emerged as a legitimate Calder Trophy candidate… and an NHL starter. He’s played enough games that he won’t be eligible for the prospect rankings this summer. We’re fascinated to see how the rest of his 2024-25 season unfolds.