When the Calgary Flames take the ice to face the San Jose Sharks at the Shark Tank on Tuesday, it will be a historic night no matter which netminder gets the nod between the pipes for the Flames.
Both of Calgary’s netminders – Dustin Wolf and Devin Cooley – hail from California. Tuesday’s game will mark the first time in NHL history that a team has played a game in California and both of its goalies were from California.
Cooley is expected to get the starting nod against San Jose. Both of the goaltenders will have their fathers in attendance at the game.
“When I first signed (with Calgary) I texted Dustin back, and I was like, ‘We’re making history, dude,’” Cooley told Sportsnet.
“It’s just so cool. I don’t even know if there’s anyone else in the NHL from Northern California, let alone two goalies on the exact same team. The odds are just like, ‘how does that even happen?’ It’s crazy.
“It’s really special to have someone to bond with on the team who’s from the same area as you and kind of understands the paths we had to take to beat the odds to get here.”
California Dreamin’ for Flames Goalies
Cooley, 28, was born in Los Gatos, California. Wolf, 24, was born in Gilroy, California, but grew up in San Jose.
The chances of both goaltenders beating the long odds to become NHLers from such a non-hockey state are remarkable in themselves. That both would end up stopping pucks for the same NHL team at the same time, well, the smart money doesn’t make bets with odds that long.
“Yes, the game of hockey has grown so much in this area, let alone the state in general,” Wolf said. “But for a goalie to make it, and for two goalies to make it, and for them to be sharing the same net together, is unheard of.
“I mean, it probably will never happen again, right?”
