Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Maple Leafs Spotlight: Joseph Woll

July 21, 2017, 10:26 AM ET [61 Comments]
Lucas Neilson
Blogger •Atlantic Division Writer • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The most difficult type of player to gauge heading into any NHL draft would have to be a goaltender. Goaltenders are all scouted from a very early age where size, agility and skill are all put into consideration.

Many goaltenders are rare specimens, some have rituals, some meditate and some will get into a pre-game routine they follow ever so specifically from waking up in the morning right until puck drop. Obviously our men’s league pre game activities are a little different from the big show.

Today’s spotlight is on Maple Leafs 2016 third round draft pick Joseph Woll. The American born goaltender played for Boston College last season taking over for starting goaltender Thatcher Demko (Canucks prospect). It’s early yet but the 6’4” goaltender comes in at 205 pounds and has excellent positioning and athleticism to go with his size which certainly fairs well when you are trying to keep pucks out of the net.

“The Brick Woll” or “Wollsey” as his teammates and friends call him had a quality season going 17-13-3 with a 2.64 goals against average and a .913 save percent. These are respectable numbers for a freshman and with the way the rules are setup the Leafs could have Woll play four seasons of College hockey before they need to sign him to a professional contract. Goaltenders playing in the NCAA have double the amount of time to develop before a team makes a decision if they want to sign them or not. So a goalie drafted out of the CHL has two years, and NCAA 4 years. This was quite possibly part of the reason why the Leafs picked the ripening goaltender Joseph Woll; as we all know they are close to the 50 contract limit.

Woll’s quality play got him an invite to the USA World Jr camp where he won the backup job behind Tyler Parsons. Woll played a quality game against the Canadian team on New Year’s Eve where he saved 25 shots and led the Americans to a 3-1 victory (1.50 GAA .935 save % - 2 games). Woll ended up winning a gold medal with team USA and hopes to be battling for the starting position this December as the Americans try to repeat.

The Leafs and Woll have nothing but time and patience as they have a quality goaltending duo with Frederik Andersen holding down the fort with backup Curtis McElhinney. Three more years of working on his game in the NCAA and Woll just may get a sniff with the big club or Marlies when he’s done with Boston College. This works well for the Leafs as they have Andersen locked up for four more years and there are still three full years left for Woll and the Leafs not having to offer him a contract.

You never really know what you have in a goaltender when you draft them, some of them have already maxed out in potential and others are late bloomers. Woll certainly has the size and the brains as he’s focusing on school and becoming the best goaltender he can be. It’s just a matter of how he progresses and he knows this, one step at a time and who knows the Leafs just may have selected a dandy goalie prospect that matures into a starting goaltender. It’s been a while…

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend.
Join the Discussion: » 61 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Lucas Neilson
» Bust out your monocle and take a gander of the Atlantic
» Atlantic Division Spotlight: Tampa Bay Lightning
» Slicing the Atlantic Division in Half
» Atlantic Spotlight: Toronto Maple Leafs
» Atlantic Spotlight: Red Wings