“He would almost work too hard in practice,” legendary Boston College coach Jerry York said of the Toronto Maple Leafs goalie during a phone interview Thursday. “He just had that special work ethic. If he was on the ice for 60 minutes, he’d want to stop every puck.
“So proud to see how he fared last night. Not surprised. But proud.”
Few people know Woll the player and Woll the person better than York, who coached him at Boston College from 2016-2019.
Now retired, York and his wife took time out from their South Carolina vacation Wednesday to watch the 24-year-old make 24 saves in his first Stanley Cup Playoff start and help the Maple Leafs extend their season with a 2-1 victory against the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round here.
And it seems York wasn’t the only member of the coaching fraternity, past or present, impressed with Woll’s performance.
Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said Thursday that Woll will start Game 5 at home Friday (7 pm ET: TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS). It’s another must-win for Toronto, which trails the best-of-7 series 3-1 and will attempt to stop a three-game home losing streak in the playoffs.
Keefe said No. 1 goalie Ilya Samsonov hasn’t skated after sustaining a lower-body injury early in the second period of Game 3, a 3-2 overtime loss. Woll will get the call and be backed up by veteran Matt Murray.
It’s clear that Woll was not overwhelmed by the stage or the moment. His ability to swallow up shots without allowing juicy rebounds was obvious to see, as was his composure when the game got tense in the third period after Sam Reinhart‘s power-play goal had cut Toronto’s lead to one.
“It was pretty impressive watching Joe’s calmness,” York said. “Especially with a 2-1 lead in that game.
“He’s four years out of college, he’s had some great minor league experience up and down. So he’s ready for this. His skill level takes over. But he’s had that pro experience. It’s not like he’s just stepping out of college right into the NHL. He’s grown. It’s critical the way he’s come up.
“But it was an important stage, an elimination game, the Leafs needed some stability and Joe gave it to them. Very impressive. I’m very excited about that.”
York remembers feeling that way when Woll arrived at Boston College in 2016. He was raw, sure, but there were traits in the kid that indicated a future NHL career wasn’t far-fetched in the least.
To that end, York deserves his share of credit for Woll’s development.
York, after all, is a Hockey Hall of Fame member, the winningest coach in NCAA ice hockey (1,123) and the only Division I coach with more than 1,000 wins. He won five Division I championships and was known for identifying key traits in a player’s skill set, as was the case with Woll.
“You see his size (6-foot-3, 203 pounds), his length, it’s what the protypical NHL goalie has now,” York said. “And his flexibility is uncanny. The way he can move in the net. His splits to go post to post, his width. So his flexibility, his size, that’s what we saw when we watched him play.
“And as we got to know him, we saw what a quality person he is. Great teammate. Respected.”
Selected by the Maple Leafs in the third round (No. 62) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Woll injured his shoulder while with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League in March 2022, then had a setback during rehab. If that wasn’t enough adversity, he also injured his ankle during that time and missed all of training camp prior to this season.
It took him about eight months to get back on the ice with the Marlies. Once that happened, so did his ascension to Stanley Cup Playoff goalie.
“He’s a terrific competitor,” York said. “You have to pay the price and he did. It’s what you have to do to play in the NHL. You saw it last night, right?
“He’s taking significant strides. But he’s overcome a lot to get there. Great size, great competitor. His work ethic. He always was the type to persevere.”
There remains plenty of work ahead for the Maple Leafs, of course. Four teams in NHL history have come back from down 3-0 to win in a best-of-7 series: the Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings in the 1942 Stanley Cup Final; the New York Islanders against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1975 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals; the Philadelphia Flyers against the Boston Bruins in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals; and the Los Angeles Kings against the San Jose Sharks in the 2014 Western Conference First Round.
Still, Maple Leafs forward Ryan O’Reilly is aware the type of magic a rookie goalie can provide. He was a member of the St. Louis Blues team that Jordan Binnington helped win the Cup in 2019.
To that end, O’Reilly said he’s liked what he’s seen from Woll.
“Just watching him, the way he warmed up and stuff, how even-keeled he is, confident but calm in there at all times,” O’Reilly said. “It’s so impressive.
“To come in for that, that pressure of being just — to do what he did, that’s an amazing thing he did.”
Jerry York couldn’t agree more.
