Monday Ramblings: Youth Is Served - Lukas Dostal, Dustin Wolf And More

Welcome fantasy managers to another week of the Monday Ramblings. This week we’ll take a look at some young netminders who are making a name for themselves with their recent play. These goaltenders may not suit up for any of the league’s elite teams, however don’t let that fool you into thinking one of these youngsters couldn’t help you throughout a long 82 game season. Let’s get to it!

Dustin Wolf

There were many questions in regards to the Calgary Flames goaltending heading into the 2024-2025 NHL season. The tandem of Dustin Wolf / Dan Vladar looked to be an area of weakness for the club, having traded former number one Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils in the offseason.

Wolf has had a strong start to the season so far with a 3-2 record, 3.19 goals against and .907 save percentage, which considering the team in front of him, is actually rather impressive. It really should come as no surprise that the Flames young netminder is holding his own to start the year as Wolf has excelled at every level he’s played at, winning the AHL’s top goaltender award (Aldege “Baz” Bastien award) in 2022 and 2023 as well as the AHL MVP award (Les Cunningham award) also in 2023.

The Flames seventh-round pick from 2019 has shown glimpses of his raw skill and athleticism in taking over a game for long stretches. However, there will be inconsistencies in his game as well as the team in front of him, as both work their way through the club's rebuild. That being said, his 60% Quality Start Rate is encouraging for both the team and fantasy managers alike. Goaltending as we all know is a rather volatile position, even more so with a young netminder such as Wolf. However, it is quite difficult to look past his pedigree, skill and raw athleticism combined with his impressive play regardless of the limited sample size.

From a fantasy perspective, Wolf should be quite an attractive commodity whether your fantasy roster finds itself in a rebuild acquiring young talent or a contending team that may be looking to stash the next star netminder.

Lukas Dostal

The Anaheim Ducks young goaltender is serving notice to both the NHL and fantasy managers alike with his incredible start to the season. Lukas Dostal was not a name that many had at the top of their lists heading into draft season, however, Dostal is making a lot of us (myself included) regret our decision to skirt over the Ducks goaltender. So far this season, Dostal has put together a 4-2-2 record accompanied by a stellar 1.99 goals against and impressive .945 save percentage, peripheral numbers which lead the league. On top of that, Doastal has Quality Starts in seven of his eight games played for an 87.5% QS rate, giving his managers top tier production to begin the year.

The added bonus for Dostal owners is that the young netminder should see the lion’s share of the crease this season with the oft-injured John Gibson and backup James Reimer in the fold. There will be some regression to the Dostal file, however, there is more than enough reason to invest in his stock with such impressive play behind a young group still in the process of finding its way to the league’s upper echelon.

The collection of young talent in Anaheim is impressive both at forward and on defence, combine that with Dostal’s emergence in the Ducks crease and one can see where there will be a vast amount of relevance fantasy wise that will only benefit Dostal value moving forward.

Sam Ersson

As I write this on a Saturday afternoon, Sam Ersson is now day-to-day which is rather unfortunate seeing as the Philadelphia Flyers netminder was having a solid start to the 2024-2025 campaign. The Flyers newly anointed number one had fashioned himself a 4-2-1 record with a respectable 2.68 goals against and .901 save percentage before exiting Saturday’s matchup with a lower body injury.

The native of Falun, Sweden has earned the trust of head coach John Tortorella which in my eyes will benefit Ersson greatly as it relates to his deployment as the team's number one moving forward. Philadelphia finds itself in a bit of a transition period, yet with the kind of play that Ersson has been giving this team we may be a little surprised with their overall performance come season's end.

As it relates to fantasy, Ersson finds himself in more of a spot start situation rather than an everyday play. That being said, in keeper or dynasty leagues there is value to be had depending on your league settings/configuration. Here’s hoping that it’s only a short term injury for the young goaltender so that he may resume his strong start to the year.

Joel Hofer

The St. Louis Blues backup netminder gave us a real glimpse of his talent last year as he put together a 15-12 record with a solid 2.65 goals against and .914 save percentage behind a retooling team. Providing both team and fantasy managers with some solid production as it relates to NHL backups.

This year his play may be even better as Hofer raced out to a 3-0 record with a tidy 2.33 goals against and .932 save percentage before letting in five goals in his last start against the Ottawa Senators. He has been giving the Blues the kind of goaltending that gives the club a chance on an almost nightly basis which has been vital as starter Jordan Binnington continues to struggle.

The 6’5 179lbs Winnipeg native enjoyed a phenomenal end to his 2023-2024 season going 5-2-1 in his last 8 game with a 2.12 goals against and .923 save percentage and certainly seems to be following that up to start the year. The Blues are in a bit of a reetool at this stage and there is incumbent starter Jordan Binnington and his contract in the picture. However, all that being said, Hofer is making the most of his opportunities and if he can continue with his strong play he may just get himself a bigger piece of Blues crease moving forward.

At 24 years old, Hofer is just now entering the prime years of his career with an upward trajectory as it pertains to his fantasy value. In one year leagues it may be more spot starts than anything for the Blues fourth-round pick in 2018, however, for those in keeper or dynasty formats Hofer receives a significant bump in value.

There you have it folks, I hope you all enjoyed my look into some of the bright young netminders making the most of their respective opportunities so far this season.

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See you all again next Monday!