Dustin Wolf Pro Reads 13
With Dustin Wolf
IDing Real Shot Threats on ‘Terrifying’ Power Play
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Dustin Wolf is one of the best young goalies in the game and an informative delight in these video breakdowns, so after almost two months sharing this space with others, it’s time to get back to the Calgary Flames sophomore for another Pro Reads.
THE SEQUENCE
This time we’re looking at a Colorado Avalanche power play from last season that Wolf describes as terrifying, which might seem ironic given its ineffectiveness was a key factor in just being swept in this year’s Western Conference Final:
The big question here is whether Nathan MacKinnon is a threat to shoot?
If not, what are his primary passing options?
What factors matter most about them? If the pass goes to Jonathan Drouin off to Wolf’s left, are you sliding or trying to get across on your skates? Why?
This may look like the same photo, but it’s actually two passes later and once again we ask whether MacKinnon is a threat to shoot at this point?
If your answer changed, can you identify the reason(s) why?
What about passing options? If it goes to Drouin now, how are you coming across? Again, if that has changed, can you identify the reason why?
The Save
Now watch the save sequence in real time and see if your answers change:
Did you see MacKinnon as a shooting threat the first time he touched the puck, or just the second time? Does seeing it in motion, at full speed affect your answer?
Watch it again and identify your keys to Wolf making that save.
THE PRO READ
Now let’s hear from Wolf’s thoughts on managing this play:
Wolf's exact words on what MacKinnon was doing — and why that first touch was never a shot — are in the breakdown below.
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- Wolf breaks down his save on a Nathan MacKinnon-led Colorado Avalanche power play, identifying the exact cues that shift a read from pass threat to shot threat.
- Wolf did not see MacKinnon as a shooting threat on his first touch, reading the situation as a lateral-pass sequence designed to stretch the crease and move the goalie.
- MacKinnon's downhill movement on his second touch — combined with Drouin repositioning on his one-time side closer to the net — converted the read to a legitimate shot threat.
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