Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames Prospects Jakob Pelletier, Josh Nodler & Dustin Wolf Named to World Junior Camps

What accolades did Flames’ prospects Pelletier, Nodler & Wolf receive?

by
Old Prof
June 16, 2020

The Calgary Flames have some good prospects in their developmental system. Today the Flames announced that Jakob Pelletier, Dustin Wolf, and Josh Nodler all were called by their respective countries to attend camps that will name the rosters for the 2021 World Junior Tournament scheduled to take place in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, starting the day after Christmas (2020) with the Gold Medal Game scheduled for January 5, 2021.

Dustin Wolf’s Season Was Full of Accomplishments

Perhaps chief among the Flames prospects is young goalie Dustin Wolf. Wolf had a magnificent 2019-20 season with the Everett Silver tips and was just asked to join Team USA’s World Junior Summer Showcase (in Plymouth, Michigan) for the week of July 24-August 1. The showcase will be used to evaluate US players who hope to play in the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships.

Wolf’s season has been so good that he’s taken home several awards. Specifically, he was named the WHL’s Goaltender Of The Year, the USA Hockey Dave Peterson Goalie Of The Year, and the CHL’s Goaltender Of The Year. That’s a lot of hardware for someone who’s only 19 years old. Often goalies develop slowly, but not Wolf. He’s been good from the start and shows no signs of having any slumps at all.

Dustin Wolf drafted by the Flames

Josh Nodler Joins Wolf with Team USA

Joining Wolf at the Team USA Showcase is Josh Nodler. Nodler played this season in his home state at Michigan State University. The 19-year-old was drafted in round five (150^th overall) by the Flames in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and just completed his first season of NCAA Hockey.

A center, Nodler played 36 games for the Michigan State Spartans and scored eight points. Before attending Michigan State, he suited up for the USHL’s Fargo Force. His best season was in 2018-19 when he scored 17 goals and 25 assists in 54 games.

Jakob Pelletier Invited to Hockey Canada’s “Virtual” Camp

But the USA Showcase invitees were not the only Flames prospects asked to give up their summer vacation to play some hockey. A third Flames’ prospect, 19-year-old forward Jakob Pelletier was named to Hockey Canada’s roster for the upcoming “virtual” World Junior camp.

Pelletier was invited to play at Team Canada’s National Junior Team Sport Chek Summer Development Camp. Interestingly, the camp will be held virtually from July 27-31 because Covid-19 restrictions prevent players and coaches from congregating. I’m trying to get my head around what this camp might look like, but I admit I haven’t done all my homework yet.

This season, the Quebec City-native Pelletier was traded from the Moncton Wildcats to the Val-d’Or Foreurs after three great seasons in Moncton where he scored 61, 89, and 82 points respectively. After this trade, he was named captain of the Foreurs. Pelletier was a first-round draft choice of the Flames in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft (26^th overall).

This isn’t Pelletier’s first camp invitation. However, a concussion he suffered in the final game before the camp didn’t allow him to compete for the team. Interestingly, he’s still eligible for the World Juniors and should have a good chance to make the team. Only eight of the 13 forwards from Team Canada last winter were able to return to this season’s tournament. The others were simply too old.

Two things should help Pelletier make the team. First, as he should, he has the skills to compete. Second, because there’s strict IIHF officiating, the fact that he was named the QMJHL’s Most Sportsmanlike Player of the last season might make a difference in a short tournament where penalties are called closely.

By the way, one thing I do know about the virtual camp is that Hockey Canada’s press release announced that “Five goaltenders, 10 defensemen and 26 forwards will attend the five-day virtual camp, participating in a variety of sessions with a focus on player development through online education.” The camp will be held on web browsers across Canada.