WOLF PRIMED FOR CALIFORNIA HOMECOMING
Flames goaltender grew up a San Jose Sharks fan and could get the start there
As a kid, Dustin Wolf's wardrobe was full of teal clothing emblazoned with the image of a shark snapping a hockey stick in two.
He spent countless nights cheering on his hometown San Jose Sharks at the now-sap Arena, dreaming of one day suiting up in the NHL himself.
Today, Wolf is living that dream.
The 22-year-old has made 13 appearances for the Calgary Flames this season after making his debut in their final game of 2022-23.
And if he's tapped to start on Tuesday, Wolf will finally get to play in the rink where so many of his on-ice dreams first formed.
“You always dream of playing, ever since you were a kid,” Wolf said Monday. “You want to play pro hockey, you want to play in the NHL. To have that come true in the first place is pretty awesome, and now getting the opportunity to go back to where I grew up and where I have family and friends and a building where I grew up watching a lot of hockey games is pretty awesome.”
It's unclear whether the Flames will go with Wolf or Jacob Markstrom in San Jose on Tuesday night, but it will be a special experience for the young goaltender to be back in the arena either way.
He has played the Sharks twice so far in his young career, once in the final game of last season in his NHL debut and then a second time in mid-february in what was unfortunately his worst game for the Flames.
Wolf has moved on and played a lot better in the eight appearances he's made since that game, so there's no reason to focus too, too much on one tough outing from a young player.
But there's no question he'd love to have a better performance in front of friends and family if he's given the chance on Tuesday.
“You try not to think about it, but that's a game I learned a lot from,” Wolf said. “Now's an opportunity to hopefully give it back to them.”
In general, this week's road trip to California should be special for Wolf.
He grew up a Sharks fan and has countless memories of cheering on Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau and personal favourite Evgeni Nabokov, but his family moved to Los Angeles when he was 10. The Kings were in the midst of a glorious run that saw them win two Stanley Cups, and Wolf couldn't help but get caught up in the excitement.
He works out in Huntington Beach in August most summers, too, and often skates at the Anaheim Ducks rink during those stretches.
So there are connections up and down the California coast, and Wolf's got absolutely no problem admitting that it's going to be special to go back as an NHL player.
“It's fun going back,” Wolf said. “It's a place you lived and grew up as a kid and you've got good friends, so it's nice to go back there.”
At this point in the media scrum, Wolf paused for just a second and then added one last thing about the state where he grew up.
“And the weather's pretty nice,”
BACK UP
The Flames recalled defenceman Ilya Solovyov on Monday.
The Belarusian has had two previous stints with the team this season but hasn't played an NHL game since Dec. 11 against the Colorado Avalanche.
He's been excellent for the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL, though, and with Oliver Kylington listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, Solovyov could get some time in during the Flames' California road trip.
“We have a couple bumps and bruises,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “We want to make sure we have the proper amount of bodies, for one. From everything that we're hearing he's been our best guy with the Wranglers for the last little while so he's deserving of another opportunity.”
Mikael Backlund also missed Monday's practice but Huska said it was just for maintenance reasons, while Andrew Mangiapane participated but is still listed as day-to-day.