Flames: Have They Finally Found Their Goalie of the Future?

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The Calgary Flames thought they had great goaltending prospects many times. Do they finally have their goalie of the future?

The Calgary Flames acquired Miikka Kiprusoff from the San Jose Sharks in 2003 for a conditional pick that turned into a second rounder. He immediately helped the team go on a run to the Stanley Cup Final and the Flames figured they had their starting goaltender for the next decade.

As it turned out, they did have a terrific netminder until the Finnish product retired in 2013. He was an absolute workhouse during that time, playing over 70 games for seven consecutive seasons.

Eventually, the Flames were going to have to find their next “goaltender of the future” but they were in no rush when Kiprusoff was receiving Vezina votes on an annual basis.

But, as Kiprusoff got older, and then after he retired, the Flames were increasingly desperate for a goalie of the future. They sure thought they had found him in the past, but it never panned out the way they expected it to. Dating way back to 2006, when Kiprusoff still had lots of tread on the tires, the Flames selected Leland Irving in the first round.

It was expected they could take their time developing their new goaltending prospect. Two more years in Junior, before a few seasons as a started in the AHL, then a couple years as the apprentice under Kiprusoff would have Irving ready for stardom.

Right? Uhh, no, Wrong.

Irving did play two more Junior seasons after being drafted, but his late season with the Everett Silvertips was his worst in the WHL. He played a decent first pro season with the Quad City Flames but it was downhill from there. He played four mediocre seasons with the Abbotsford Heat after that and sprinkled in 13 appearances with the Flames that resulted in a 3.25 goals-against average.

By the time Kiprusoff retired in 2013, his heir apparent was heading to Finland as well to play in Liiga.

OTTAWA, ON – MARCH 9: Jon Gillies #32 of the Calgary Flames (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images) /

Ortio, Gillies, McDonald, Parsons pass the torch around

In 2009, the organization drafted Joni Ortio in the 6th round. His development was, let’s call it non-linear. He would have a decent season with a terrific World Juniors, but then get loaned all over Finland for a year before bouncing back with a great World Championships, then get demolished in a couple AHL appearances but look good in Finland.

Eventually, he put together a solid season with the Abbotsford Heat in 2013-14 and the Flames had faith again. It didn’t last long, and it led to that awkward three goalie rotation with Ortio, Jonas Hiller and Karri Ramo. The Flames couldn’t figure out which one was the best until they realized none of them were any good.

The Flames would then take a chance on a huge goaltender in the 2012 NHL Draft. Jon Gillies was taken in the third round and he immediately turned into a stud goalie at Providence. After two great college seasons and a couple of World Juniors appearances, the Flames were more confident than ever they found their new long-term number one.

The 2015-16 season saw him play just seven games due to injury, though he looked good for the Stockton Heat. However, this past season was his fourth straight where he posted mediocre numbers at the AHL level and now could be a free agent on October 9th.

Before the Flames gave up on Gillies, in fact right when he looked at his best, they drafted Mason McDonald in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft.

McDonald is another big goaltender and he put up decent, yet unspectacular numbers in the QMJHL for three seasons. He did look great for Canada at the World Under-18 and a couple games at the World Juniors in 2015 so it was thought a more structured team and league would make McDonald look even better than he did in the Q.

That wasn’t the case as he has never looked comfortable at the AHL level and just finished his fourth consecutive season at the ECHL level. He didn’t get an NHL or AHL contract after the 2018-19 season.

Just two years after taking McDonald in the second round, the Flames pinned their future hopes on Tyler Parsons. Just before being drafted, Parsons led the London Knights to an OHL and Memorial Cup title.

Parsons had another great OHL season and was the starter for USA at the 2017 World Juniors, but his transition to pro hasn’t gone smoothly. He is an RFA after three seasons where he couldn’t get his GAA below 3.00 in the AHL. He is still just 23, but isn’t giving the organization the same hope he did a few years ago.

Dustin Wolf

While the Flames tried drafting Irving in the first round, McDonald and Parsons in the second round and Gillies in the third round without bearing fruit, they might have found their next long-term starter in many years in the seventh round.

Looking back at the Flames starter’s over the past eight years is a long list of one-hit (not so) wonders. David Rittich, Mike Smith, Brian Elliott, Karri Ramo, and Jonas Hiller have all had the most starts in a season for the Flames, but none of them have had much success.

They tried many times to pick a goalie in the first half of the draft to no avail, but Dustin Wolf looks like the real deal. He was selected in the 7th round of the 2019 NHL Draft after an excellent season with the Everett Silvertips.

The Tustin, California native was sensational in 2018-19 for the Silvertips, posting a 1.69 GAA and a .936 SV% in 61 games. He was only 17 years old that season. He turned 18 in April of 2019, was drafted two months later and then turned in another exceptional season in the WHL. He played 46 games before the season was interrupted, and had a 1.88 GAA with a .935 SV%.

He is “undersized” for a goaltender at 6’0″ and 161 pounds which is a big part of the reason he was available in the 7th round of the draft. But, even as a 16 year old he was dominant in the WHL. He only played 20 games that season, but posted a 2.25 GAA to go with a .928 SV% that season.

Why did he play only 20 games? Carter Hart was the team’s starter and he had a 1.60 GAA and a .947 SV% on the season.

Wolf is still just 19 years old so he has one more year of Junior eligibility left. He was the backup to Spencer Knight at last year’s World Juniors and is likely to play that same role again this year for the Americans. It should be another terrific season for Wolf, but the 2021-22 season will be the pivotal one in his development.

That jump from Junior to pro can be difficult for top prospects, especially goaltenders. We saw how Parsons and Gillies failed to bring their great numbers from the OHL and college to the AHL.

They didn’t have the same prolonged success that Wolf already has at the Junior level. A fourth year of dominating play, after winning the CHL’s Top Goaltender Award this season, will have Wolf fully prepared for the next level.

After that? Can he be the goaltender of the future for the Calgary Flames? They have had a difficult time finding a starter who is a long term solution since Kiprusoff retired. Wolf waited a long time before his name was called at the NHL Draft in 2019.

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If he continues on the path he’s been on his whole career, he won’t be waiting much longer before he is the team’s number one option and he has the poise and talent to keep that job for a very long time.

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