Joseph Woll Pro-Read 7
With Joseph Woll
Power Play Depth Tips: Keep Tip Options in Front of You
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Joseph Woll made his Pro Reads return last week at the same time as he came back from a high ankle sprain, making 36 of 37 saves in his lone AHL conditioning stint start, a 4-1 win with the Toronto Marlies. Now he’s back and set to start again for the Maple Leafs, so we figured lets double up and go back to the rising young star for another video session.
Woll, who was playing himself into Vezina Trophy consideration before the Dec. 7 high ankle sprain with a +2.0 adjusted save percentage that still ranks 5th in the NHL ahead of big names like Connor Hellebuyck and Thatcher Demko, was actually featured in Pro Reads before. Woll did five of these video breakdowns with InGoal after being a guest on Episode 158 of the InGoal Radio Podcast almost exactly two years ago.
Of course, two years is a long time in the development of a young pro, so we sat down with Woll recently for an extensive video review session from games early this season.
THE SCENARIO
Woll shared great insights into a rush chance against the Tampa Bay Lightning in his return, and we follow that up with a breakdown against the Washington Capitals power play:
Obviously, that’s Alexander Ovechkin in his office on the power play but — and we realize this may sound absurd given his place in the game and pursuit of Wayne Gretzky for the NHL goals record — is he the most dangerous player in the screencap above?
Why or why not?
What do you make of Woll’s depth here? Does it alter or affect your answer?
THE SAVE
Ask yourself the same questions as you watch this play out in real time below:
What did you think of Woll’s decision to regain his feet after starting to slide across?
Can you identify they keys to him being able to make that decision?
From a positioning standpoint, what would your keys be in a similar situation?
Even after seeing that Ovechkin passed, if there anything you’d do different?
THE PRO READ
Now let’s check in with Woll for his complete breakdown and keys:
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- Woll breaks down his save against an Alexander Ovechkin power play chance for the Washington Capitals, explaining why Ovechkin's pass option may be more dangerous than the shot in that situation.
- Woll identifies the specific cues that allowed him to stop his slide and recover to his feet rather than commit fully across — a decision point he walks through in real time.
- Woll returned from a high ankle sprain posting a +2.0 adjusted save percentage (5th in the NHL) and made 36 of 37 saves in his AHL conditioning start before this session.
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