Not often does a team contending for a Stanley Cup enter their season with an unproven goalie. Most of the time, to even be considered a contender, a team has to have at least a solid, reliable goaltending situation.
And while Joseph Woll has been solid, to say he’s been reliable is a bit of a stretch.
Woll kind of came out of nowhere for the Toronto Maple Leafs, making his debut in the 2021–22 season and then becoming an emergency starter in the 2023 playoffs. But his play has earned him the right to prove he can be a number one NHL goalie.
Through 36 regular season NHL games, Woll sports a .912 SV%, and that number jumps to .933 in the playoffs. He’s been nothing short of outstanding while in the net, but has battled injury after injury since becoming an NHL regular.
For the Leafs to truly contend, they need much better goaltending than they’ve got for the last two years. If healthy, Woll can be that guy. Let’s check out why:
Stats
| Season | Team | League | GP | Record | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Boston College | NCAA | 37 | 13–21–3 | 2.41 | .919 | 3 |
| 2019–20 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 32 | 11–16–4 | 3.75 | .880 | 2 |
| 2020–21 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 15 | 7–7–0 | 3.54 | .892 | 1 |
| 2021–22 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 15 | 6–7–0 | 3.36 | .907 | 0 |
| 2021–22 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 4 | 3–1–0 | 2.76 | .911 | 1 |
| 2022–23 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 21 | 16–4–1 | 2.37 | .927 | 0 |
| 2022–23 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 7 | 6–1–0 | 2.16 | .932 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 25 | 12–11–1 | 2.94 | .907 | 0 |
History
Drafted in the third round of the 2016 NHL Draft, Woll was a pretty solid goalie prospect right off the bat.
One of the top netminders of the USNTDP, he played three years at Boston College after being taken by the Leafs, sporting save percentages of .913, .915, and .919.
Then, he became a bit of an afterthought.
His first year in the AHL was rough, as he got into 32 games and put up a brutal .880 SV%. His next year wasn’t much better, going 7–7–0 with a .892.
But since then, he’s been incredible wherever he’s played. He improved his AHL game, got a shot with the big club, and hasn’t looked back.
Profile
Evaluating goalies is tough. Some of the best of all time have interesting playstyles, and some guys that “look” good can never put it together.
But when a guy puts up numbers like Woll, and also looks every bit the part, it’s very encouraging.
Woll is extremely calm in his net, something Leafs fans cherish after watching Ilya Samsonov swim across the crease. His poise is outstanding, as he never looks out of position or panicked.
When he does end up out of position, his size and strength allow him to recover quickly. He’s not the fastest, but doesn’t need to be when he patrols his blue paint as calmly as he does. There’s no wasted movement, and it allows him to stay square and polished.
At 6’3”, Woll also has the size that allows him to play from his knees quite a lot, able to take away the bottom half of the net with ease. His slides are clean and efficient, getting him from post to post quickly.
If there’s anything Woll needs to work on, it’s his puck tracking. He should be able to look over defenders and opposing forwards to find pucks near the point, but has quite a bit of trouble with it at times. He makes some incredible saves, but can give up a bad one every once in a while (but so does just about every other goalie).
There’s also the first shot issue that arose last year, where he was clearly in his own head about giving up the first shot on net, but that seemed to go away. Hopefully, it doesn’t come back
Fit
The best thing for Woll this year is he has a very reliable tandem partner. Due to his massive injury issues, getting Woll rest and letting him recover will be vital.
With Anthony Stolarz behind him, it takes a ton of pressure off Woll. He doesn’t have to play 60 games, and he doesn’t have to carry the Leafs for the whole season. If Stolarz gets hot, then great, they can ride him for a bit and let Woll get all the rest he needs.
But make no mistake, Woll is the future of the Leafs crease. There are just not many guys who can put up save percentages in the .930s in the playoffs, and he’s one of them.
The goal this season should simply be to have him ready for the playoffs. Woll is a massive part of this team, and if they want any success, he needs to be healthy and contributing with the rest of the core.
