Dustin Wolf has been having a spectacular rookie season. The former seventh-round pick has done more than enough to prove his doubters wrong, already easily cementing himself in the Calder Trophy race.
Many comparisons have been made to Mikka Kiprusoff and Mike Vernon, as there is hope that Dustin Wolf will be the next great goalie to be put atop Calgary’s goalie Mount Rushmore. As the wins continue to stack for Wolf, he might already be chasing the coattails of at least one of those greats.
Can Dustin Wolf catch up to Mike Vernon?
So far this season, Dustin Wolf sits at a record of 20–11–3 with a 0.913 SV% and a 2.62 GAA with 26 games left to go. He began the year splitting starts with Dan Vladar and only just recently had the training wheels taken off and was made the full-time starter. Suddenly, a record that originally appeared to be unreachable due to limits imposed on Wolf early in the year has begun to look more feasible.
Calgary Flames legend Mike Vernon currently holds the record for most wins by a Flames rookie goaltender with 30. He achieved that record back in 1986–87, going 30–22–1 with a 0.883 SV% and a 3.62 GAA.
| Goalies | % Games Started | % Games Won | Record | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dustin Wolf | 60% | 58% | 20–11–3 | 0.913 | 2.62 |
| Mike Vernon | 67% | 54% | 30–22–1 | 0.883 | 3.62 |
Vernon would appear in 67% of the team’s games that year, ending with 55 games played on the season. Wolf currently sits at 60% but that percentage has seen a rise since he stopped splitting starts equally with Vladar.
Wolf might be the NHL’s newest workhorse goaltender
In just a month, the Calgary Flames have already greatly increased his workload and found plenty of success in doing so. Back on January 24, Wolf had only played in roughly 53% of the team’s games. Using the percentages shown in the table above on the remaining 26 games this year, Wolf would end the year with 29 wins, adding nine wins to his current total. That is assuming the team doesn’t continue to increase his workload.
Since January 24, Wolf has started eight of the last 10 games. If the Flames continue to use him at that rate, based on the win percentage shown in the table above, he would finish with 32 wins, setting a new franchise record.
Will Wolf break Vernon’s record?
It certainly does look like Dustin Wolf will at least have a fair shot at Mike Vernon’s record. Whether the Flames tone down his usage in the remaining months of the season will most likely be the deciding factor.
While I wouldn’t bet on Wolf maintaining the 80% start rate that he has had over the last 10 games for the rest of the year, it would be shocking to see his usage drop anywhere near where it was prior to late January. He has more than earned the starting job at this point, and I think Flames fans would be absolutely appalled if the team went back to splitting starts between the Vladar and Wolf.
Perhaps all that’s left now is to wait and see if Calgary’s newest superstar has what it takes to cement himself properly into the franchise’s history books.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
