Dustin Wolf To Win The Calder Memorial Trophy (+1100)
We are at the midway point of the 2024-25 NHL season, and with the Four Nations Face Off putting the league on hiatus for a couple of weeks, now is the perfect time to dive into some stable markets to look for some value. Over the last couple of days, I have been diving into the futures market in order to invest in some teams and players, and I have thrown some coin on a couple of things that I have been sharing on site. I shared a couple of playoff bets, and now, I have a wager on a longer shot to win the Calder Trophy.
It is quite rare that a goaltender is in contention to win the Calder Trophy, as rookie netminders tend to struggle against the NHL talent that is firing away on them. It takes a truly exceptional rookie season between the pipes to win the award as a goaltender, but right now, we have a guy that has a legitimate shot to do so. Calgary Flames rookie Dustin Wolf has been incredible this season and is enjoying what is a remarkable campaign for a first year player.
Wolf is 19-11-3 in 33 starts for the Flames this season, to go along with a 2.63 GAA and .912 SV%. When you look at where those numbers rank among NHL goaltenders, it is quite impressive. He’s 12th in overall winning percentage, 20th in GAA, and is tied for 10th in save percentage. He also has two shutouts already, which is unreal for a rookie. Let’s also not forget, we are at just the halfway point of the season. If he continues to play this well and perhaps even grow those numbers as the season goes on, he should be very much in the discussion for the Calder Trophy.
Currently over at BetMGM, No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini is the fairly large favorite at -300 to win the Calder Trophy this year. It is highly unsurprising to see that, as the teenager has 17 goals and 23 assists in 45 games, managing just under a point per game. Skaters will always get the benefit of the doubt over netminders if the performances are close, but in my opinion, Wolf has been more impressive. His team is actually winning games because of his performance in the net, whereas the San Jose Sharks are probably going to draft at No. 1 overall for the second straight season.
Celebrini also has missed some games this season due to injury, and is a -20 in +/- so far this year. Honestly, there really isn’t a question to me who has had a bigger positive impact on his team. Wolf has been better, but since he isn’t scoring goals, he will get overlooked by many despite how crucial he has been for the Flames. Granted, Calgary is also a much more talented team than the Sharks are, and Celebrini has little to work with this season. Connor Bedard won the Calder last season with decent numbers because he was skating with a bunch of AHL guys, and still is this season to be fair.
Canadiens defender Lane Hutson is also in front of Wolf at +300, and actually has more points than Celebrini does with 41 of them, but with 56 games played. However, he is also -20 for his +/-, and for a defender, that is never something that you want to have.
To me, I think Wolf has been the best rookie to suit up this season, who has had the biggest impact on his team. At 11/1 odds, even though he is a goaltender, I think he is worth a play to bring home the Calder Trophy.
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