Joseph Woll comes within a hair of surpassing a 67-year-old Leafs franchise record
Joseph Woll might be the hottest thing in hockey right now after stepping in for a struggling Ilya Samsonov and providing the Toronto Maple Leafs with Vezina Trophy caliber goaltending early on in the season.
It's not as though Woll's numbers (3-1-0, 1.33 GAA, .961 SV%) are insulated at all. Quite the opposite actually. Woll has faced a tougher work load and more high danger chances against than pretty much any other goaltender in the National Hockey League and he has managed to stop 99% of them. Before yesterday's game against Dallas, Woll was an impressive 20-for-20 on high danger chances. The stars did score on one high danger attempt last night, but Woll has been as close to perfect as perfect can be.
Prior to the start of this season, Woll had just 11 games of regular season NHL experience under his belt. Now, with 4 appearances this season, his grand total is up to 15 games, so we should probably temper our expectations a bit going forward, but it's tough not to get excited about this kid.
Woll has amassed a 12-3-0 record at the NHL level thus far, with a career 2.11 GAA and .934 SV%. Again, these are Vezina Trophy caliber numbers if he can sustain them throughout the season. His .934 SV% is also the 2nd best of any netminder in Leafs history through their first 15 games, nearly breaking a 67-year-old franchise record. Ed Chadwick had a .939 SV% through his first 15 games during the 1956-57 season.
Make no mistake about it, Woll still has a lot to prove. With just 15 NHL games under his belt, he'll have to show that he can handle the ups and downs of an 82-game season. If he has assumed the role of starting goaltender in Toronto, it will mean playing around 50-55 games. A lot can happen over that span. Again, though, it's tough not to get excited about this kid, because he appears to be the real deal.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 27 | 427 ANSWERS Joseph Woll comes within a hair of surpassing a 67-year-old Leafs franchise record Is Joseph Woll the new #1 goaltender in Toronto? | ||
| Absolutely | 254 | 59.5 % |
| Not yet, but close | 142 | 33.3 % |
| No, Samsonov will go on a heater and take it back | 31 | 7.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
