The Leafs had 11 picks at the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo. The team wanted to host somewhat of a draft party for all those picks, their parents, brothers, sisters, billet families, and friends. It was going to be a packed event.
The problem? Only two of the 11 players they selected were at the draft: Auston Matthews and goalie Joseph Woll.
“Yeah it was Auston and I at the draft,” Woll said. “It was funny, they threw this big party after expecting like 10 kids and their families and it was just Auston and I there. It was a lot of fun though. I got to meet all the staff and everything so I got to talk with them a lot, being one of the two kids there, so it was good.”
But what about the food, Joseph?
“A lot of leftover food. It was almost like a wedding. It was awesome. It was good to be there with my family and everything and get to talk with all the coaches and staff.”
The draft was an eventful weekend for the young goalie. Five players from St. Louis were selected in the first round. Woll himself hails from Dardenne Prarie, a small Missouri city northwest of St. Louis.
“It was awesome,” Woll beamed, “Especially being able to just be there with them and experience that with guys I grew up playing with and see how successful they’ve become. Five guys going in the first round was… it’s crazy. It’s going to be hard to top that.”
Some in attendance at opening day of development camp remarked that Woll reminded them of James Reimer, and it was something that became noticeable. The comparison doesn’t come from their playing styles (Woll says he looks up to Carey Price and Braden Holtby), the fact they’re both goalies with large frames, or that both grew up in small towns. It’s the smile that never goes away. The positive attitude. Everything is “exciting” or “awesome” and Woll looks like he really means it.
For all the attention the Leafs got by picking some older players at the draft, Woll is still almost a week shy of his 18th birthday (July 12). Out of the 41 players at the Leafs’ Development Camp, Woll is one of just seven born in 1998 and he is the second-youngest player there, behind camp-invitee Tye Felhaber of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit by less than a month.
And even though he’s one of the younger players there, Woll comes in knowing a few other guys.
“I played with J.D. Greenway this past season,” Woll said. “And to be here with him, to just know some of the guys like Auston Matthews and Jeremy Bracco just from being around them in the past with the National Program. It was great, especially being at the draft so I already know all the faces here and it helps me be more comfortable around the facilities and the staff.”
The Leafs used their own third-round pick, 62nd overall, to select Woll out of the US National Development Program. He was the fourth goalie selected at the draft and he knew the Leafs were interested.
“I interviewed with them at the combine. I had a lot of communication with them throughout the year,” he said. “I met with them before the draft, so I thought and I was kind of hoping in the back of my mind that the Leafs would pick me up and it worked out perfectly so I couldn’t be happier.”
Woll’s role between the pipes for the Leafs may be more important than it first looks. Of the five goalies at Toronto’s development camp, Woll is the only one the team picked at the draft. Chris Nell, David Ovsjannikov, and Anthony Brodeur — the much talked-about son of Martin — are camp invites. Kasimir Kaskisuo is the only goalie at camp besides Woll who is officially part of the Leafs organization, after signing with the team this past spring.
Woll was also the first goalie selected by the Maple Leafs at the draft since Antoine Bibeau in 2013.
So does this mean Woll will make the Leafs this coming season and help out Frederik Andersen? Settle down. It’s almost never quite that simple with goaltenders.
“Obviously I’m going to do as well as I can here and hopefully make a statement,” Woll said. “But I’m set on Boston College and I think I’m really going to develop there so we’ll see what the future holds with the Leafs. I’m excited to see what’s going to happen.”
“I met Steve Briere (the Leafs’ goalie coach) yesterday. It’s going to be good to be able to work with him this week and understand some things I need to work on and improve before hopefully I’ll play here one day.”
Time will tell if Joseph will become a Leaf and live up to his Twitter handle, @brick_WOLL29. With Andersen locked up for five years and Woll committed to the college route, the Leafs seem happy to give him that time.
