Wolf won't allow 6-foot height be obstacle for playing goalie in NHL

Dustin Wolf
is used to being overlooked and doubted.

But when the 6-foot, 156-pound goalie signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames on May 1, the 19-year-old made it clear nothing will stand in his way of fulfilling his dream of playing in the NHL.
"I pride myself on being the hardest worker each day," Wolf said. "I never give up on anything."
The Flames got a firsthand look at just how determined Wolf is at the 2019 NHL Draft. It was the seventh round, and though most potential picks had left Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Flames general manager Brad Treliving heard a commotion when Wolf was announced as the 214th pick.
It was Wolf and his family celebrating his selection.
"You don't usually have a lot of seventh-rounders sitting there," Treliving said. "I vividly remember that. Then my next thought was, 'Oh my Lord, the kid's been sitting there and he's been there as long as we have.' So it became a bit of a story because he was very emotional about it and he's not an overly emotional guy.
"But we're not signing this guy because it's a great story and he's a seventh-round pick. We're signing him because we think he's got a good chance to be a really good goalie."
So does Wolf, but he's long had to battle questions about his size, and he feels it's a big reason he was the last of 22 goalies selected and the fourth-to-last player chosen in the 2019 draft.
"It was definitely nerve-racking," Wolf said of his draft experience. "But when I heard my named called, all the negative thoughts went out the window.
"After all that took place, I wouldn't have had it any other way. It was amazing, a good story to tell. It's one I'll remember forever."
He is the third goalie from his draft class to sign an entry-level contract, behind Hunter Jones, who was selected No. 59 by the Minnesota Wild, and Arturs Silovs, who was picked No. 156 by the Vancouver Canucks.

Wolf led the Western Hockey League this season with a 1.88 goals-against average, a .935 save percentage and nine shutouts while going 34-10-2 in 46 games. In 2018-19 for Everett, he was 41-15-2 with a 1.69 GAA, a .936 save percentage and seven shutouts in 61 games. He assumed the starter's role that season after backing up Carter Hart, now the No. 1 goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers, in 2017-18.
Size is just one of many important numbers, said Everett goalie coach James Jensen, who also works with Wolf during the offseason.
"That (size) has been a factor in everybody else's mind for years," Jensen said. "Not his. It just seems like people put that roadblock in front of him all the time. Nobody takes the time to really look at him. They just throw the blanket statement that he's not 6-foot-3, he's not going to play in the NHL, and don't take time to peel back the onion and see what he really is.
"That's a mistake on a lot of people's parts, they don't try to unearth more about him. Yes he's only 6-feet tall. But look at the numbers he puts up consistently now. Do your math."
The Flames have endorsed Wolf's foundation by signing him. Now he has to continue the excellence he has shown.
"Assuming (training) camp takes place, I'm going to put everything I can into trying to make the team," Wolf said. "It's probably likely that doesn't happen, but all you can do is try. And assuming I come back to Everett, it'll probably be my last year [of junior] and you've just got to leave it all on the table. I want to win a championship, and with the guys coming back next year, I think we have a really good chance."
Jensen said that Wolf's work ethic, habits and preparation already are at a pro level and that attention will transition to important issues at higher levels.
"All the pieces are in place, and the only thing in the pro game that's different is the traffic and the size and strength of the guys in front of him and that's something we'll be focused on," Jensen said. "I look back to every time this kid has had to make a leap in level, there's been a pretty tight learning curve and he's right there amongst the elite. I have no reason to believe that can't be done ... he hasn't slowed down yet."
Goalie size often is a polarizing debate inside the game. But it's not always a disqualifying factor.
Of the top 25 NHL goalies in save percentage this season (minimum 30 games played) before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, there were six who measured 6-foot or less: Anton Khudobin of the Dallas Stars (5-11), Pavel Francouz of the Colorado Avalanche (6-foot), Antti Raanta of the Arizona Coyotes (6-foot), Jaroslav Halak of the Boston Bruins (5-11), Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators (5-11) and Alex Stalock of the Minnesota Wild (6-foot).
"I remember our guys talking a lot about him at our (scouting) meetings," Treliving said. "And what they go through is that they'd start with (the fact) that he's not 6-foot-4. And then they'd say at the end of the day, well, the puck hits him all the time. There are obviously challenges for guys his height, but we kept coming back to it, you put your fingers two inches apart and say if he's that much different he's probably going in the top two, three rounds. Now we'll see. But he's ultra-competitive and he's got great reflexes and the proof's in the pudding, that he's had two real good, remarkable years in Everett."