Flames' Wolf: USA Olympic camp snub 'creates fire'

Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf has a chip on his shoulder after he wasn't invited to the United States' Olympic orientation camp in August.

"It just creates fire," Wolf told reporters at the NHL/NHLPA player media tour Monday, including theScore's John Matisz. "I've been the guy that's been looked over so much in my career."

A 2019 seventh-round pick, Wolf is coming off a tremendous rookie year in which he finished second in Calder Trophy voting and eighth in Vezina Trophy voting. He went 29-16-8 with a .910 save percentage and nearly dragged a Flames team with the NHL's 29th-ranked offense to the playoffs. Calgary missed the postseason with 96 points by virtue of a tiebreaker with the St. Lous Blues.

The United States invited four goalies to the off-ice camp: Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger, Jeremy Swayman, and Joey Daccord. The first three were all on USA's 4 Nations Face-Off roster. Players who weren't invited to orientation camps are still eligible to make Olympic rosters.

The Americans are rich in goaltending depth: Anthony Stolarz, Joseph Woll, Spencer Knight, John Gibson, and Thatcher Demko are among the additional netminders who could earn consideration for the Olympic team.

"I don't think going or not going to the orientation means that they don't like you," Wolf continued. "But the start of the season - the first two months of the season - are critical for giving you an opportunity to go over to the Olympics. And that's the goal. You want to prove people wrong. Myself, our group, are continuing to prove people wrong on a daily basis in Calgary. That's just another side of it."