Maple Leafs’ Playoff Hopes Rest on St. Louisan Woll

The towering 25-year-old netminder has firmly replaced Ilya Samsonov as the Maple Leafs’ starter, erasing any lingering doubts with his terrific 27-save performance in a 2-1 overtime victory on Tuesday. Now, Woll will step under the brightest spotlights in the NHL, trying to stave off elimination on home ice in Toronto. But his path to glory in The 6 started over 20 years ago just west of the Gateway City.

St. Louis Born and Raised

Though it might not jump to mind, St. Louis has become a hotbed of hockey development in recent years. In 2016, the St. Louis area produced five of the 30 first-round draft picks, including the sixth and seventh picks, Matthew Tkachuk and Clayton Keller, respectively, as well as Logan Brown, Luke Kunin, and Trent Frederic. Woll would also be selected in that draft, with the 62nd pick. But he didn’t come from an NHL pedigree like Tkachuk or Brown, nor did his family own a roofing company with an inescapable jingle (looking at you, Frederic). Woll started playing at a young age in the small suburb of Dardenne Prarie, west of downtown by about 40 minutes.

Woll’s path to the NHL would take him from the unsung suburb to the St. Louis AAA Blues, where, at 15 years old, he would play 18 games with a 1.71 goals-against average (GAA) and a .933 save percentage (SV%). He would move on to the U.S. National Team Development Program, where, despite some struggles, he would catch the eye of scouts at Boston College. He also earned the trust of Team U.S.A. management, as he would tend goal at the U17 World Hockey Championships and then the U18 World Junior Championship the following year. At the latter, with a 1.34 GAA and .947% SV% in three games, he would lead the tournament in both categories and help the Americans bring home bronze. That, combined with a much better season at th USNTDP would convince the Maple Leafs to draft him early in the third round.

At Boston College, Woll played a lot in three seasons, finishing his college career with 101 games played, with a .916 SV% and 2.51 GAA. He seemed like he might become the solution for the Maple Leafs’ goaltender carousel, and would go on to make his NHL debut on Nov. 13, 2021.

From the Beanpot to the Fryer

Collegiate hockey in Boston is a high-pressure environment and a good breeding ground for future NHL players. Nowhere is this more evident than in the annual Beanpot tournament, a proving ground to assign bragging rights to that season’s top team. Woll had his opportunities to shine there, even facing future NHL opponent Cayden Primeau in 2019. But due in part to the COVID-19 PAndemic, Woll would never taste the pressure of NCAA’s ultimate proving ground — the Frozen Four Tournament.

By the 2019-20 season, Woll was playing full-time with the Toronto Marlies, getting only brief tastes of NHL action in 2021-22 and 2022-23. In fact, he had only played 11 NHL games ahead of the 2023 postseason, so almost no one imagined that he might be thrust into the action. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Setting a precedent for what would come later, he came on in relief of Samsonov. The following series, against the Florida Panthers, Samsonov suffered an injury, and the Maple Leafs would be forced to start Woll. In Game 4 of the series, Woll would make 24 saves in a 2-1 Maple Leafs victory, becoming just the eighth rookie goalie in NHL history to win an elimination game, joining a list that included Jose Theodore and Jacques Plante.

Though the Leafs would ultimately lose the series, Woll earned a permanent NHL spot, and would even hear calls that he should start Game 1 of the playoffs. But the Maple Leafs would not commit to him until they were forced to: once again in relief of Samsonov in the third period of a losing playoff effort. Now, Woll has won another elimination game, but with two more between the Maple Leafs and the second round, the rest of the story is yet to be written.

Woll’s Path to Maple Leafs Immortality

Woll isn’t the first former St. Louis goalie to make headlines as a Maple Leaf. Curtis Joseph would become a Maple Leafs legend after starting his career with the St. Louis Blues (though he was a Keswick, ON native). And Woll has a long way to go before he catches Joseph’s 60 playoff games played for Toronto. But the one or two he has ahead of him might be some of the most significant in Maple Leafs’ history. Everyone knows that change is coming in Toronto if they cannot pull this series out. With questions about Auston Matthews’ health and Mitch Marner’s effort level, Woll will have to play a major role if Toronto is to pull off the miracle comeback now. He’ll be a legend forever in the GTA if he can help them do it. But even though the hopes of Ontario rest on his shoulders, he will always be a Missouri boy at heart.