Dustin Wolf wasn’t invited to Team USA’s Olympic orientation camp in August. The Calgary Flames goaltender has something to say about that.
“It just creates fire,” Wolf told reporters at the NHL/NHLPA player media tour Monday, including theScore’s John Matisz. “I’ve been the guy that’s been looked over so much in my career.”
The 2019 seventh-round pick is coming off a tremendous rookie season. He finished second in Calder Trophy voting and eighth in Vezina Trophy voting.
Wolf went 29-16-8 with a .910 save percentage last season. He nearly carried a Flames team with the NHL’s 29th-ranked offense to the playoffs.
Calgary missed the postseason with 96 points. They lost a tiebreaker with the St. Louis Blues.
The United States invited four goalies to the off-ice camp. Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger, Jeremy Swayman, and Joey Daccord made the cut. The first three were all on USA’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster.
Players who weren’t invited to orientation camps can still make Olympic rosters.
The Americans have deep goaltending options. Anthony Stolarz, Joseph Woll, Spencer Knight, John Gibson, and Thatcher Demko are among the netminders who could earn consideration for the Olympic team.
“I don’t think going or not going to the orientation means that they don’t like you,” Wolf continued. “But the start of the season – the first two months of the season – are critical for giving you an opportunity to go over to the Olympics. And that’s the goal. You want to prove people wrong. Myself, our group, are continuing to prove people wrong on a daily basis in Calgary. That’s just another side of it.”
Wolf’s path to the Olympics runs through his play with Calgary this season. The Flames are looking to bounce back after missing the playoffs despite a strong showing from their rookie goaltender.
