Joseph Woll becoming crucial safety net between pipes for LeafsForever: .MLarkinHockey on how the 24-year-old's emergence matters for a team that can't count on Matt Murray heading into the playoffs
It’s a delight watching a Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender smiling ear to ear, basking in the newfound spotlight, his innocence not yet lost playing in the ultimate pressure cooker of hockey markets.
With all goaltenders, but especially Toronto ones, you never know when the twinkly smile might fade away. With great performances eventually comes elevated expectations and, eventually, pressure to succeed in a more prominent role. We thus have no idea how long Woll, long the Leafs’ No. 1 goaltending prospect, can keep these vibes going. But he certainly seems to have the right tools to do so, and he’s showing them off at a time when his team badly needs him.
All in all: Woll appeared in just 62 pro hockey games in a three-season stretch, during which he fought to keep his save percentage north of .900. Forget any talk of struggling: the problem was more that Woll couldn’t get any momentum and build a sample size. It was difficult to know who he was going to be as a goaltender. It appeared Erik Kallgren had passed him for No. 3 on Toronto’s netminding depth chart.
What Woll is hinting at with the mental stuff: meditation has become a large part of his off-ice life, and he said earlier this season that it was crucial to getting him through the anguish of a long injury recovery. He also got rid of his social media accounts to limit his distractions. That led to the meme-worthy moment of him not even knowing Toronto acquired Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St.
Enter Woll, who is fresh, confident and playing the best hockey of his pro career right now. It’s possible Murray returns without a hitch and Woll is back with the Marlies before long. But it doesn’t feel like a stretch to picture Woll stepping into a vital role just like Murray did as a rookie for the injury-riddled Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2016 playoffs.
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