Toronto Maple Leafs sign Joseph Woll to entry-level deal

The Toronto Maple Leafs locked up one of the top goaltending prospects, signing Joseph Woll to a three-year entry-level contract

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed goaltender Joseph Woll to a three-year entry-level deal, the team announced Sunday.

Woll took very little time to put pen to paper. Boston College was 14-22-3 on the year and needed a victory in the Hockey East Conference Championship game against Northeastern to have any chance at the NCAA tournament. They weren’t able to get it done, losing 3-2 to their cross-town rivals.

Lost slightly in the hype of the 2016 draft – when the Leafs selected Auston Matthews – was Woll, who the Leafs selected in the third round, 62nd overall.

The Dardenne Prairie, MO., native was a graduate of the United States National Team Development Program in 2016. That year, he shared the crease with future first-rounder Jake Oettinger and also had Clayton Keller, Adam Fox, and Kieffer Bellows playing in front of him.

The Leafs selected USNTDP teammate J.D. Greenway 10 picks after Woll.

Woll was committed to Boston College and began playing for the Eagles in the fall of 2016. In his freshman year, he appeared in 34 games, finishing the season with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. A year later, he posted a 2.48 GAA and a .915 SV% and made one of the saves of the season during a game against New Hampshire.

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The 20-year-old decided to return to BC for his junior season. While the team experienced a down year, Woll improved on his stats again, with a 2.41 GAA and a .919 SV% in a career-high 37 appearances.

Woll’s ELC kicks in immediately, making him the 49th contract on the Leafs. Both Joseph Duszak and Mac Hollowell previously agreed to future ELCs, meaning that they’d likely ink the deals after July 1.

There was no announcement as to where Woll would be assigned but the obvious assumption would be the Toronto Marlies. After spending the majority of the season looking for answers in the crease the AHL team has gotten steady goaltending as of late from Michael Hutchinson and Kasimir Kaskisuo. With Ian Scott also likely to join the Marlies once his season ends, there will be more than enough goaltenders to choose from down the stretch.

Scott played one AHL game last year after signing an amateur tryout contract. Woll could see at least a game of action. The organization could also consider using the youngster in the ECHL for the rest of the year. The Newfoundland Growlers have qualified for the Kelly Cup playoffs and could give Woll some game action. The team already has Eamon McAdam, Michael Garteig, and 2018 seventh-rounder Zachary Bouthillier, but they would make room for a top goaltending prospect.

Regardless of his landing spot, the real test will be next year, when Woll will start his first full professional campaign. Goaltenders generally take more time than skaters to develop, so the near 21-year-old will be given a chance to get some integral reps in the minors over the next year at least.

What do you think of Woll? Where do you think he should spend the rest of the year? And when do you expect to see him with the Leafs? Let us know in the comments below!