Wolf excited for chance to share the ice with Crosby again
Published
When Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf was 11 years old and a minor hockey goalie in California, he had a moment on the ice he’ll never forget.
Wolf's parents were family friends with Pat Brisson, the agent of Sidney Crosby. The Penguins star missed significant time in 2011 and 2012 because of concussions. Crosby would skate on his own or in small groups during his recovery process.
At one such skate in Los Angeles, Brisson invited Wolf to participate alongside Brisson’s two sons.
Wolf was at the other end of the rink in his full goalie gear, but didn’t get to face Crosby one-on-one.
“They were like, ‘His shot’s pretty heavy, so we’ll get you out of the way a bit,’” Wolf said with a chuckle after practice on Monday. “I was so young at that point, it was more like, I want to let him do his thing and kind of just sit in the background and watch what was going on. Being that young and seeing a guy…was pretty remarkable.”
Crosby doesn’t recall that particular skate, but remembers how challenging it was to be on the ice away from his Penguins teammates during his lengthy recovery.
“Those skates were tough,” he said. “I skated on my own for a long time. I spent a lot of time doing that skill stuff, working to get back. It felt long there for a bit.”
Now 37 and in his 20th season, Crosby said he’s heard similar stories of skating with young hockey players he eventually suits up against in the NHL.
“I’ve seen a few of those pictures lately,” he said. “It’s fun. I still love being out there as much as I did in the picture [with Wolf]…it tells you how fast things go and just that the hockey world’s small. You never know when you’re going to cross paths at different points and up playing against guys. At this point, I’m playing against guys who I’ve played against their dads.”
Wolf has never faced Crosby and the Penguins in his young career. Wolf enters the game 2-0 on the season with a .944 save percentage. Calgary (4-0-1) is off to their best five-game start in franchise history, while Pittsburgh is 3-4-0 through seven games.
Wolf still vividly remembers his encounter with Crosby and is looking forward to facing the star he once shared the ice with more than a decade ago. Wolf and Dan Vladar split practice reps on Monday ahead of the two teams facing each other Tuesday.
“As a kid, you kind of want to hold in your excitement or explode with excitement,” he said. “Maybe it would’ve been a bit different if I was a player that skated out and was a forward, but it’s a little different seeing it from the other side.”
Flames lines
Kuzmenko-Kadri-Coronato
Zary-Backlund-Coleman
Huberdeau-Pospisil-Mantha
Lomberg-Kirkland-Klapka
Rooney
Bahl-Andersson
Weegar-Miromanov
Bean-Pachal
Hanley-Barrie
Vladar
Wolf