Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll practiced fully on Friday for the first time since Oct. 8 because of a lower-body injury.
Woll missed the team’s first four games after suffering what he called “a little bit of groin tightness” on the day before the season opener. The past four days, he skated before the main session while working with the goalie coach and skills coaches.
“Anytime you get injured, whether a big injury, small injury, I think there is that kind of initial emotion,” Woll said Friday. “A little bit of frustration, a little bit of disappointment, and all those things.
“I think you let that come for a bit and then you focus on what you can control and what you can do. So since then, I’ve just been focused on doing everything I can possibly do to get back to 100 percent as soon as I can and help this team.”
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube doesn’t have a set date for Woll’s return. Toronto (3-1-0) hosts the New York Rangers (3-0-1) on Saturday.
“Sooner than later, I would think. But you take it day by day still,” Berube said. “I think it’s important here after practice just to see where he’s at. I haven’t talked to him yet, so we’ll figure it out.”
Anthony Stolarz has been the primary goalie in Woll’s absence and is 2-1-0 with a 1.70 GAA and .940 save percentage.
Woll, 26, finished 12-11-1 with a 2.94 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in 2023-24.
A third-round draft pick by Toronto in 2016, Woll is 21-13-1 with one shutout, a 2.76 GAA and a .912 save percentage over parts of three seasons with the Maple Leafs.
Woll received a three-year extension in July, effective for the 2025-26 season, for $10.98 million. He is in the final season of a three-year contract paying him $766,666 this season.
–Field Level Media
