Markstrom, who returned to practice Thursday morning after being sidelined for a week, is ready to help his team continue its push for a Western Conference wild card spot, beginning with a Saturday night showdown in Vancouver next on tap for Calgary.
But he’s also noticed that Wolf is picking up this whole ‘playing in the NHL’ thing quickly, turning aside 28 and 36 shots, respectively, in wins over Vegas and Montreal last week.
“He's showing everyone that he can stop the puck and has been playing great hockey for years now,” Markstrom said. “So, it's obviously ... I know the transition is ... It's a different game and it takes time and for me, it took almost 10 years to figure everything out.
“You've got to play games to get better and to learn, and has been doing great when he's in there.”
When asked Thursday, Flames head coach Ryan Huska said both Markstrom and Wolf will get games over the next month, and that if all goes according to plan, Markstrom should start against the Canucks Saturday night.
But Huska knows full well the opportunity for Wolf to serve as Markstrom’s understudy - so to speak - will pay dividends for the young Californian in the long run.
“The opportunity to watch a true No.-1 NHL goaltender on a daily basis is the biggest thing for him,” Huska said. “There’s only a handful of teams that have a true number-one goaltender, we have one in Jacob so it’s an opportunity to see how he approaches his work on a game day, his work on a practice day, all of those things come into play for him.
“Other than that, when he gets his starts, he wants to make sure he keeps proving to himself that he is a guy that should be getting more games, and that’s what it really comes down to.”
Overall, Wolf’s played 45 pro games this season - 10 at the NHL level, as well as 20 winning efforts with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers.
He, too, sees the merit in learning from Markstrom over the next little while.
“He’s a world-class goaltender for a reason, he’s in my mind probably top five in the league,” Wolf said. “The way he handles himself off the ice is super important, and I think that’s a big reason why he’s played so long in this league, I’m sure he’ll play many more years. I’m super-excited to be around him each and every day for the next month, and kind of pick apart his game and see what works super-well for him.
“Granted, I don’t have the structure that he does, but (I’ll) try to learn as much as I can.”
And after a season that’s seen him bounce from the Flames, to the Wranglers, and back again, Wolf’s relishing the opportunity to keep his feet planted with the big club the rest of the way.
“I’ve kind of been up and down a lot all the year, so there hasn’t been a whole lot of time to adjust to where my feet are at,” he said.
“This is definitely the opportunity I’ve been hoping and waiting for, now’s the chance to take advantage of it.”
