Rogers Legends of Hockey: Common ground for Battle of Alberta goalies
It's a question that Dustin Wolf has heard dozens of times this summer.
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It's one that Stuart Skinner has already answered.
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How does a not-a-newbie-anymore netminder follow up a Calder Trophy nomination? What is the secret to avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump?
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'I wouldn't be too worried for Wolfie,' Skinner said at Saturday's Rogers of Legends Hockey event at the Rogers Charity Classic. 'He's a fantastic goalie.'
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Wolf certainly showed that during his first full season with the Calgary Flames. He managed to keep a low-scoring squad in the Western Conference wildcard race until the bitter end. That was recognized with a runner-up finish in Calder Trophy voting.
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As starters on opposite sides of the Battle of Alberta, Wolf and Skinner put any on-ice differences aside Saturday as part of a star-studded lineup for the Rogers Legends of Hockey shootout at Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club.
The celebrity closest-to-the-pin competition, which followed the second round of action at the PGA Tour Champions showdown, raised $160,100 for charity. (Wolf, who was swinging in support of Youth Centres of Calgary, advanced all the way to final before being defeated by Canyon Meadows junior ace Sydney Bisgrove, who recently won the women's title at the 2025 Alberta Open Championship. Bisgrove, 19, racked up a big donation for First Tee Alberta.)
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As Wolf put it before going head-to-head against Skinner and other NHL and PWHL standouts: 'When you get to turn an enemy to a friend for a couple hours, it's nice.'
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'The goalie world is a little bit different,' Skinner added when asked about his neighbour netminder. 'Obviously, we're battling and we're fighting against each other. But at the end of the day, I know the position that Wolfie is in, being in a Canadian market, being a goaltender, and obviously he knows that from my standpoint too. We both get that for each other.
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'I mean, we still want to beat each other. But this is a golf course, so I'm just hoping not to shoot it in the water.'
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