Countdown to Flames & Wranglers Hockey: Wolf, Brzustewicz, and Calgary’s Next Chapter
Few players in the Flames system draw more attention right now than Dustin Wolf and Hunter Brzustewicz.
Wolf is coming off his first full NHL season, where he played 53 games, won 29, posted a .910 save percentage, and earned recognition as a Calder Trophy finalist. At 24, he has shifted from top prospect to a starter who gives the Flames a level of consistency in goal that had been missing in recent years.
Brzustewicz, meanwhile, is pushing from the AHL. After a 92-point season with the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League, he posted 32 points as a rookie with the Wranglers and made his NHL debut late in the year. His poise with the puck and ability to drive play from the blue line make him one of the most intriguing young players in the organization.
Their development provides an added layer of interest as the new season approaches. Calgary opens its preseason September 21 with a split-squad doubleheader against Edmonton, one game at the Saddledome and the other at Rogers Place. The regular season begins October 8 in Edmonton, followed immediately by a visit to Vancouver on October 9. That means the Flames will start their year with back-to-back road games before finally returning home October 11 to face St. Louis in front of the C of Red.
The Wranglers open their season October 10 with a two-game set in Colorado, continue with another pair in Tucson, and then return to Calgary for back-to-back games against Coachella Valley on October 24 and 25. That stretch represents six games across three cities in just over two weeks, a demanding way to open the year and a reminder of how quickly the AHL schedule tests a roster.
Wolf and Brzustewicz don’t define the future on their own, but they represent where the Flames and Wranglers are headed: a stronger connection between the NHL roster and the pipeline below it. One is already carrying NHL responsibility. The other is forcing his way into the conversation. Together, they are part of the bigger picture as hockey returns to Calgary this fall.