Above everything else, Dustin Wolf may be the single most important factor when it comes to the Calgary Flames’ playoff hopes in 2025-26.
Based on Monday night, Wolf is already in mid-season form.
Up against the Seattle Kraken in his second start of training camp, the Flames starter stopped 35-of-36 shots before turning away three-of-four Kraken attempts in the shootout to earn the Flames a 2-1 win.
If there are worries about a sophomore slump for Wolf, well, put those to the side for a minute. It’s true that pre-season only tells us so much, but the Flames were up against a Kraken squad that was loaded with NHL talent and turned away everything they could throw at him.
Who will back him up? That’s a question that will get resolved between now and the start of the regular season.
But Wolf looks like he’s ready to pick up right where he left off last season.
Here’s three takeaways from Monday’s game:
Calgary Flames players celebrate after right wing Matvei Gridin scored during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Seattle Kraken, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Seattle.
1. OH-SO-CONFIDENT
The Flames placed Matvei Gridin alongside Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato on Monday. They played together on Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets, and boy, were they fun.
Not only did Gridin score the game-tying goal mid-way through the second period against the Kraken on a pretty breakaway, he also potted the shootout winner on an effort that was oh-so-cool, calm and collected.
Grindin was selected in the first round, 28th overall, of the 2024 NHL Draft and may need a little more time for seasoning in the AHL before he’s ready to make an impact in the NHL.
But the Flames have put him in positions to show off his offensive skill-set during training camp. They want him to feel confident that he can play at this level.
And he’s delivering.
2. PUSHING
Chances are, both Ilya Solovyov and Yan Kuznetsov will start the year playing with the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL.
There just don’t appear to be obvious places for either of them on the Flames’ NHL roster.
Both, though, have had solid training camps and should be on-the-radar for call-ups this season.
Kuznetsov has shown he can be a reliable physical presence throughout the pre-season and while his stay-at-home nature means it’s hard to find stats that quantify his contributions, he’s been impressive.
Solovyov worked on his skating this off-season and to the naked eye, at least, it appears that his game has taken a step forward. His vision to find Gridin for his second period goal was borderline brilliant.
Both guys are showing they’re serious about earning playing time in the NHL this year.
3. FROST PRODUCING
Heading into Monday night’s pre-season games around the NHL, Morgan Frost was third in pre-season points around the NHL.
He added another point with an assist on Gridin’s goal, and is now sitting on six points in four games.
That only tells us so much, and we easily could have just talked about how good Wolf looked instead of highlighting that a 26-year-old is finding ways to put up points in the pre-season in this takeaway.
But Frost is one of the guys the Flames are relying on to produce more this season. It matters that he’s finding ways to contribute.