Flames’ Dustin Wolf on Olympic orientation snub: ‘It just creates fire’
One of the rising goaltenders in the game is speaking out on his potential omission from representing his country.
When speaking to the media during the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas, Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf was asked about being left off the roster for the U.S. Men’s Olympic Orientation Camp last month.
Wolf admitted that the snub is going to further build his drive to be better, but he doesn’t believe he’s off USA Hockey’s radar.
“It just creates fire,” Wolf said. “I’ve been the guy that’s been looked over so much in my career. I don’t think going or not going to the orientation means they don’t like me. You want to prove people wrong.”
Dustin Wolf at NHL Player Media Tour on Team USA Olympic orientation snub:
"It just creates fire. I've been the guy that's been looked over so much in my career. I don't think going or not going to the orientation means they don't like me. You want to prove people wrong."
Wolf is coming off a stellar rookie season in Calgary. In taking on the role as the team’s No. 1 netminder. In 53 appearances, he posted a solid 29-16-8 record with a 2.64 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage and three shutouts – tied for the most among rookie netminders. Wolf finished second in Calder Trophy voting, falling short of catching Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson.
Yet, Wolf’s performance wasn’t enough to convince Team USA general manager Bill Guerin and company that he was worthy enough to be considered to play for the Americans at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina. Instead, USA Hockey invited reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars backstop Jake Oettinger, Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins and Seattle Kraken netminder Joey Daccord to Plymouth for the short camp.
It is a little bit of a head-scratcher not seeing Wolf at least invited to the camp, regardless of whether he would make the final roster before the team heads to Italy. The California native posted better goals-against averages and save percentages than Daacord (2.75, .906) and Swayman (3.11, .892), though one could argue that Swayman and the Bruins in general had a very down year.
Even if Wolf had been invited to Plymouth, he wouldn’t have had much of a chance to prove himself. The two-day camp was more of a glorified team-building event, with no scheduled ice time.
Nevertheless, Wolf seems ready to use the snub as an opportunity to improve on his game and stay prepared in case his country needs him on one of sport’s biggest stages.