Dustin Wolf has signed an entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames. The 19-year-old was Calgary's seventh-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
In two seasons as the Everett Silvertips' starting goaltender, Wolf was the best goalie in the Western Hockey League, posting a league-best 1.69 and 1.88 goals-against average. He also started one game at the 2020 World Junior Championship representing the United States, making 17 saves in a 6-3 win over Germany.
Wolf shared his reaction to the news.
"After the draft last year I was super excited to come to Calgary, definitely wasn't the way I would have expected it to but wouldn't have had it any other way."
— Brendan Parker (@BParkerTV) May 1, 2020
When Calgary selected him, Wolf was the fourth-to-last pick of the entire draft emerging as one of the feel-good stories from the weekend. It was an unexpected fall after the season he had in Everett where he was named the league's Western Conference Goaltender of the Year.
After an agonizing four-hour wait inside Rogers Arena to hear his name called, he tried summarizing how he felt at that moment.
"There are no words to describe it," Wolf told the Calgary Sun's Wes Gilbertson after getting drafted. "As you can probably tell, I'm pretty emotional right now. A long day, but definitely one worth waiting for."
A reason why Wolf dropped to the seventh round is his frame as he's listed at just 6-feet tall and 156 pounds. While his size goes against the grain of what teams define as a modern-day goaltender, he still posted a .936 and .935 save percentage in two seasons as Everett's starter.
Asked #Flames GM Treliving about Wolf earlier this week: “You hear and he hears all the time about his size. But you know what? He’s just a good goalie. He just stops the puck. He’s athletic. He’s still very, very young and it’s a process for him, but he’s a driven young man.” https://t.co/8DK9ceQuNa
— Wes Gilbertson (@WesGilbertson) May 1, 2020
In an interview with Sporting News in December 2019, Wolf discussed how Calgary was a great landing spot for him.
"Obviously, I didn't expect to stay until the last four picks in the draft," Wolf said. "But I couldn't have asked for anything better than to come to Calgary. I've got nothing but good things to say about them and they've supported me through everything thus far.
"It's pretty much been a dream come true and still a lot of work to do, but a step in the right direction."
The Flames have goalie David Rittich under contract through 2021 with veteran Cam Talbot set to hit free agency after this season.