Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube isn’t anxiously watching Joseph Woll’s every move when the injured goaltender is on the ice, wondering when the Leafs will see him in a game again.
Woll is getting closer to making his season debut as he works through lower-body tightness and was taking shots at the Ford Performance Centre on Thursday as some of his teammates took part in an optional practice.
Will Woll be a full participant in practice on Friday?
“We’ll see how today goes and then we’ll make a decision on it,” Berube said. “We’re not going to rush him.”
There is no reason to, not with the way that Anthony Stolarz has performed with Woll out of the lineup.
The 6-foot-6 Stolarz hasn’t had to fish many pucks out of the net in his three starts, stopping 79 of 84 shots for a .940 save percentage. And, in his only game, Dennis Hildeby was sharp and registered a victory last week against the New Jersey Devils in his National Hockey League debut.
What Stolarz is doing is not a revelation for Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. As teammates with the Florida Panthers last year, Ekman-Larsson witnessed the impact of Stolarz whenever the latter’s number was called in his backup role behind Sergei Bobrovsky.
“Reads the play well, (and) he puts in work off and on the ice,” Ekman-Larsson said. “I’m happy for him, and it’s great to have him here. I think he’s going to be a big part of (what the Leafs accomplish this season).
“He’s a funny guy, easy going. Great guy. It’s a lot of fun being around a guy like that.”
Also getting in some on-ice work on Thursday was centre Fraser Minten, who is recovering from a high ankle sprain suffered against Montreal in a prospect game in September.
“He’s getting a lot better,” Berube said. “He’s pretty close. That’s as good as I can give you.”
The expectation is that Minten will join the Toronto Marlies when he is ready to return.
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