The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a solid position in the standings heading into the 2024 Trade Deadline, and they got some more good news on Monday when the team announced that goaltender Joseph Woll was called back up to the Maple Leafs after a one-game conditioning stint with the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, Toronto Marlies. In his one game with the Marlies, he stopped 36 of 37 shots, in a 4-1 win over the Laval Rocket on Friday (Feb. 23).
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Woll hasn’t played in the NHL since Dec. 7 when he suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Ottawa Senators. Before his injury, he had an 8-5-1 record with a 2.80 goals-against average (GAA) and a .916 save percentage (SV%). He took over as the Maple Leafs’ starter after Ilya Samsonov had a rough start to the campaign. He will be looking to come back where he left off.
Before joining the Maple Leafs, who drafted him 62nd overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Woll played in the NCAA with Boston College, where he posted a 2.51 GAA and a .916 SV% through 101 games over parts of three seasons. In his draft year, he played 33 games with the U.S. National U18 Team in the National Team Development Program (NTDP), where he posted a 2.14 GAA and a .918 SV%.
Woll is in his third NHL campaign but had only started 11 games before 2023-24. After a solid showing through 15 games this season, he seemed to finally be the solution to the Maple Leafs’ recent goaltending issues.
The Maple Leafs are back in action on Tuesday (Feb. 27) in a matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights, whom they defeated in their previous battle with a 7-3 win. It’s unknown whether Woll will start that game or if the team will wait a bit longer before giving him a start.
