Joseph Woll spoke to the media on Friday for the first time since ending his leave of absence and rejoining the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I’ve kind of decided that all I’m going to say about my time away is that I’m disappointed to have missed time and I’m very happy to be back,” the 27-year-old goalie said. “I’d really like all the focus to be on my job here. I don’t want to create any distractions for myself or for the team. I think there’s enough here to focus on, and all I ask is that you guys respect that. And if, down the road, I am interested and think it’d be beneficial to talk about, I’ll initiate that.”
Early in training camp, general manager Brad Treliving announced that Woll was leaving the team to attend to a personal matter. The Leafs announced he was coming back on Oct. 24.
Before taking questions on Friday, Woll thanked the Leafs organization, Treliving and his teammates for all their support.
“Just being back in this environment has been nice,” he said. “To see my teammates, to be back in Toronto and watch us play, watch the Blue Jays play and everything, it’s good to be back here.”
Woll will join the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League for a conditioning stint this weekend. It’s unclear how long that will last.
“In [training] camp maybe there’s a bit more of a runway into the season,” he said. “Now you kind of go zero to 60 [or] maybe like 30 to 60 as opposed to the smooth ramp up.”
Woll has not played since March 18 when he took the loss in Game 7 of the second-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers.
“Pace is something that I’ve found is important to get up, especially if you’re coming off an off-season,” he said. “So pace is a big one.”
Woll has gone through three full practices with the Leafs since rejoining the team.
“There’s an eagerness to get back out there,” Woll said. “Had enough idle time and sitting around and don’t want to be practicing too long and stuff like that. I just want to get out and get going.”
With Woll away to start the season, the Leafs claimed Cayden Primeau off waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes to help shore up their goaltending depth. Toronto placed Primeau, who is 2-1-0 with an .838 save percentage, back on waivers on Friday.
Woll expresses gratitude while addressing media for first time since leave of absence Joseph Woll spoke to the media for the first time since returning from his leave of absence and he took the opportunity to express his gratitude for the support he has been given by everyone and his wishes for privacy.
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Woll and Anthony Stolarz provided the Leafs with one of the top goalie tandems in the NHL last season. Woll started a career-high 41 games and posted a .909 save percentage while Stolarz started a career-high 33 games and led the NHL with a .926 save percentage.
Stolarz has started 11 of 14 games so far this season and is in line to play again on Saturday against the Boston Bruins.
“I appreciate the work he’s done,” Woll said. “Been great for our team carrying the load like that. It’s not an easy thing to do. Not an easy thing at all. Yeah, he’s been awesome. He’s handling it great. He’s in the same mindset he’s always in, so it’s great.”
Stolarz’s numbers have slipped this season under the weight of the increased workload and his save percentage is down to .895.
“Right now, for me, it looks like I’m giving up one a game that I kind of want back,” Stolarz told TSN after a win against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 28.
Another example occurred in Wednesday’s win over the Utah Mammoth: It was a second-period point shot from Mikhail Sergachev that eluded Stolarz.
“It’s a tough read,” Stolarz said. “Obviously you get scored on on the ice from the blue line, it’s always tough. I just couldn’t pick it up [through] three guys. You want to have your stick on the ice and, at that key point in the game, you know, 2-1 towards the end of the second period, that’s one, you know, you’re not going to want to give up.”
Stolarz did close the door after that goal as the Leafs built a 5-2 lead in the third period.
“I’ve been saying, ‘You just got to focus on the next shot,” Stolarz said. “And kudos to the guys who came out in the third period and stayed patient with our game, kept playing our game, and waited for them to make some mistakes, and that allowed us to get the lead back.”
The numbers may not look great, but Stolarz is finding ways to win. He’s got a personal four-game streak going. The win streak has coincided with a mask change as Stolarz dropped his usual chrome look.
“Just trying something new,” the 31-year-old explained with a smile. “That’s what I’m going to say. The blue cage, you know, it’s been working for me now so I’m going to stick with it. It’s a little different so I’m excited about it.”
Stolarz shakes off bad goal amid big workload with Bruins on deck next In Wednesday’s win over the Mammoth, Anthony Stolarz showed a little bit of frustration on the ice following the goal from Utah’s Mikhail Sergachev. For Stolarz, he did his best to regain focus after allowing the tying goal. The Leafs will look to collect a fourth consecutive win when they host the Bruins on Saturday, a team that Stolarz has had personal success against.
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The Leafs, as a team, are streaking right now with a 3-0-0 record in November. What sparked the surge?
“Ah, I don’t know, we had a great Halloween party in Philly,” winger William Nylander said with a smile.
The Leafs took full advantage of their first multi-game trip of the season last week.
“It was just a good meal and the costumes were pretty good,” said Stolarz. “It was exciting for sure just to be able to go out on the road, hang out with the guys and just kind of let loose. And, you know, I think that kind of brings the team together.”
Stolarz is already anticipating the next big night out.
“Let’s see what holiday we got here coming next,” he said. “American Thanksgiving maybe? That could work. Yeah, we’ll just do that next. Thanksgiving party next. So, we’ll be good.”
The Leafs will be in the middle of a five-game trip during American Thanksgiving, so the schedule is co-operating.
Head coach Craig Berube is not citing holiday magic, though, in talking about his team’s improved fortunes. The coach points out the Leafs have now won five of six.
“What I’m seeing now, going back a little bit even in October, later October, is just playing to our identity and understanding that this is how we’re going to have success,” he said.
Is the Leafs’ Halloween party the catalyst for November success? The Leafs have historically been a slow starting team but things usually turn around in the month of November. Toronto has picked up three wins already to start out the month and the theory floating around is that the team’s annual Halloween party could be the catalyst for the improved play.
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What has been consistent this season is Nylander’s production. He has hit the score sheet in all but one game. With 20 points in 11 games, Nylander is off to the hottest start of his career.
“Just trying to play better hockey every year,” the 29-year-old Swede said. “Just trying to work on my game every year and try to get better so it’s nice to see that I’m getting rewarded for it.”
What has he improved this season?
“I think it’s just getting better at the stuff that I’m really good at,” he said. “Just improving those things.”
Nylander stayed out late after practice to work on his skating acceleration and edge work, which are staples of his success.
Nylander finished second overall with 45 goals last season, but has been more of a playmaker so far this season with 14 assists, including 11 primary ones.
“He’s making more plays with the puck and getting assists,” Berube observed. “He’s an underrated passer.”
“I’m just doing what I usually do, I feel like,” Nylander said with a shrug. “Sometimes you get some lucky bounces. I had a couple 5-on-6 goals so that definitely helps.”
Nylander does have two empty-net goals and two empty-net assists, but he’s also come through in some clutch moments.
Nylander scored twice in the third period to help the Leafs rally from 3-0 down against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. With Toronto down 1-0 against Utah on Wednesday, Nylander got the team on the board early in the second period.
“It’s just his timely goal scoring,” Stolarz said when asked what’s standing out. “The quality of goals, you know, in big spots and big moments that he’s scoring for us to either take the lead or tie the game, I think that’s been huge for us. He’s stepped up in a big way and I think the guys have kind of rallied around that.”
Nylander is second overall in points per game behind only Vegas winger Mark Stone (13 points in six games).
‘He’s stepped up in a big way’: Nylander’s sizzling start has been crucial for Leafs early William Nylander is having one of the best starts to his career and currently has 20 points on the season, one back of the NHL lead. His contribution has been needed for a Leafs team which had some struggles early on, but has now seemed to hit a good stretch.
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Nylander has faced a couple potential distractions early in the season. He was called out by both Berube and Stolarz for some sluggish play early on. He also missed three games with a lower-body injury.
Per usual, the star winger remained unfazed through it all.
Nylander doesn’t mind the spotlight. He even launched his own YouTube channel to take fans behind the scenes this season. The latest episode, posted this week, featured Nylander going shopping with some of his Swedish teammates.
“He tried on some really cool stuff and some not so cool stuff,” said defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson with a smile. “Let me put it that way. But, you know, he can pretty much rock everything.”
How would Nylander describe his style?
“My style? I don’t know,” he said with a grin. “Hard to describe. I like to wear some baggy clothes so that’s my style.”
What’s indisputable is that Nylander has style. Joe Thornton dubbed Nylander “Willy Styles” when he joined the Leafs for the 2020-21 season. The nickname has been written on Nylander’s sticks ever since.
Thornton is among the Hockey Hall of Fame class that will be honoured at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday ahead of Monday’s induction ceremony.
“He was laidback, but really wanted to win,” said Nylander. “Super competitive but super laidback and it’s perfect to have a guy like that.”
Ekman-Larsson gets an inside look at what it’s like to shop with Nylander William Nylander uploaded his second YouTube video where he took in some high-end shopping with some teammates, including Oliver Ekman Larsson. Nylander attempted to describe his style and reflected on his ‘Willy Styles’ nickname given to him by former teammate Joe Thornton, who is set to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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Nylander leads the NHL in even-strength points with 18 entering Friday’s slate of games. And there’s the potential for Nylander to boost his offensive numbers even more if the Leafs power play starts clicking.
“Look, I think we’ve had actually, like, good scoring chances, opportunities, getting zone entries and stuff like that,” Nylander said. “It’s just being positive and we also got to hit the net a little bit more when we’re in those high-danger chances. Once we get the shooting up, I think, you know, it’ll be fine. We got the base there. We just need to get the puck in the net.”
After going 0/1 in Wednesday’s game, the Leafs are 4/34 on the season with two short-handed goals allowed. Toronto’s 11.8 per cent success rate ranks 30th overall.
“I’m not making excuses,” Berube said. “We get one power play a game, maybe two. I mean, that’s a little bit of a problem for sure. Now, in saying that, we got to do a better job of executing on our power play with the chances we have. And, for me, we haven’t executed well enough. And I think that’s really what it boils down to. There’s been plays that we’ve had in tight or good chances and we miss a net or we just didn’t execute well enough. That’s the biggest thing for me.”
Toronto’s 34 power-play chances are the second fewest in the NHL this season. Why can’t they earn more calls?
“I don’t know,” Berube said. “You have to ask the league. I mean, the last eight games, I would say, our zone time in the offensive zone is really good and it’s gone up. You work in the offensive zone, you make people take penalties. We just got to stay with it. We can’t focus on it or worry about it, we just got to keep doing the work we’re doing and eventually it’ll come around.”
The Leafs have generated more than two power-play chances in only five games this season.
This isn’t a new issue. The Leafs have consistently finished in the bottom half of the NHL in power-play chances during the Auston Matthews era.
‘You have to ask the league’: Berube talks PP opportunities, the need to maximize chances The Leafs sit near the bottom of the NHL with an 11.8 percent conversion rate on the power play and have scored just four goals with the man advantage all season long. Head coach Craig Berube hinted at the low amount of opportunities his team has received but said ultimately, it’s on his team to maximize the chances they do get.
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The Leafs dedicated about half of Friday’s practice to special teams work. The power-play units huddled with assistant coach Marc Savard before running through plays. The initial reps did not include penalty killers. Eventually the units did do game-like reps with penalty killers.
Matthew Knies leads the Leafs with two power-play goals. He stayed out late after practice to work on net-front plays with Savard, who oversees the power play.
Knies is currently riding a six game point streak and is tied for second on the team with 18 points.
“He’s just a beast out there, on the forecheck, winning pucks back, you know, creative, making those small little plays and, you know, can score incredible goals, too,” Nylander said. “I mean, I don’t know if you saw the goal in practice but, yeah, that was pretty, pretty nuts.”
Knies dangled around defenceman Philippe Myers before putting a backhand shot off the post and in behind Woll.
Nylander responded by falling to the ice and putting his hands on his head while Knies jumped into the arms of Calle Jarnkrok.
“Oh, it was just a nasty move,” Nylander said.
Leafs Ice Chips: Red-hot Knies impresses Nylander with ‘nasty’ move Matthew Knies is riding a six-game point-streak and has picked up 10 points in that span. His ‘nasty’ work has been evident in practice as well as he scored a goal that left William Nylander in awe. TSN’s Mark Masters has more.
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After missing Wednesday’s game due to an illness, defenceman Simon Benoit was back on the ice at Friday’s practice.
Defenceman Brandon Carlo, who will face his old team for the first time on Saturday, led the stretch after practice. The Leafs acquired Carlo in a trade with the Bruins at the deadline last season.
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Lines at Friday’s practice:
Knies – Matthews – Nylander
Robertson – Tavares – McMann
Joshua – Roy – Maccelli
Lorentz – Laughton – Domi
Jarnkrok, Blais
Rielly – Carlo
Ekman-Larsson – McCabe
Benoit – Myers
Mermis
Stolarz
Woll
Power play units at Friday’s practice:
QB: Ekman-Larsson
Flanks: Matthews, Nylander
Middle: Tavares
Net front: Knies
QB: Rielly
Flanks: Domi, Maccelli
Middle: Robertson
Net front: Roy