Dustin Wolf has a long way to go to earn any legitimate comparisons to Calgary Flames goaltending legend Miikka Kiprusoff. But the fact it has been more than 20 years since the franchise has had this much excitement about the goalie position says a lot.
Yes, the franchise had a brief glimmer of goalie greatness with Jacob Markstrom, who finished second in Vezina voting in 2022 with one of the best ever years by a Flames netminder, but it took a couple of seasons into his Calgary career and he wasn’t able to come close to another before being traded to the New Jersey Devils last summer.
The pandemic also put a damper on Markstrom’s time with the Flames, so that nostalgic feeling of a star goalie for the future never really materialized with any consistency.
With Wolf, there’s a real buzz. Everyone loves an underdog, and the so-called undersized backstop continues to show off his incredible agility and ability to make up for a lack of height with his heart and head. His anticipation of the play, his lightning-quick lateral movement and a Gumby-like flexibility definitely triggers hope Calgary Flames fans old enough to vividly remember Kiprusoff’s run in town.
The Flames snagged a 27-year-old Kiprusoff from the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 14, 2023 in what was undoubtedly Darryl Sutter’s best move in his entire tenure as Calgary’s GM. Kipper went on to take over the starting position and finished the 2023-24 regular season with a 24-10-4 record supported by a .933 save percentage and 1.70 goals-against average.
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In the magical playoff run that followed, Kiprusoff stole many games as the Flames upset the Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings and his former team, the Sharks, before falling just short in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Kiprusoff had a .928 save percentage and 1.85 GAA while playing every game of that post-season.
As for Wolf, who was two years old when Kiprusoff was traded by the team he grew up cheering for in Gilroy, Calif., sharing the net with Dan Vladar this season hasn’t stopped him from shining.
Met with wolf howls from the Calgary crowd after every big save, the 23-year-old Wolf has put together a 6-2-1 record with a .921 save percentage and 2.53 GAA. He’s coming off his two best games of the year with a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings and his first NHL shutout in Friday’s 2-0 victory over the Nashville Predators that earned the Flames 48 hours off the ice.
They’re back against the New York Islanders on Tuesday at the Saddledome, and Wolf has earned that start.
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