Joseph Woll

Joseph Woll was born on July 12, 1998, in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, and was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round, 62nd overall, of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Standing 6'3" and weighing 212 pounds, the left-catching goaltender wears number 60 for Toronto. InGoal Magazine has covered Joseph Woll in 15 Pro Reads.

Woll appeared on InGoal's radar early, joining Kevin Woodley for a video breakdown session after being a guest on Episode 158 of the InGoal Radio Podcast, which produced his first five Pro Reads entries Joseph Woll Pro-Read 4. Those initial sessions established a recurring format: Woll reviewing game footage, identifying his own mistakes, and articulating the reasoning behind his positioning decisions with a candor that Woodley has returned to repeatedly across multiple seasons.

In the summer of 2024, Woll signed a three-year, $11-million extension with the Maple Leafs. Combined with the remaining season on his then-existing contract at $766,667, the deal placed him in Toronto for four additional seasons Joseph Woll ProRead 11Joseph Woll Explains Time and Place when VH Might Save RVH Fail.

The 2023-24 regular season was interrupted by a high ankle sprain sustained on December 7. Before the injury, Woll had posted a +2.0 adjusted save percentage that ranked fifth in the NHL, ahead of Connor Hellebuyck and Thatcher Demko Joseph Woll Pro-Read 7Joseph Woll Pro-Read 6. He returned via a conditioning loan to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, making 36 of 37 saves in a 4-1 win before rejoining the Maple Leafs Joseph Woll Pro-Read 7. His playoff appearance that spring was brief — two games — but he posted an NHL-leading +8.3 adjusted save percentage before a back injury forced him out ahead of Game 7, when the Maple Leafs were eliminated Joseph Woll Pro-Read 9.

Through his career, Woll has appeared in 117 NHL games, going 63-43-9 with a 2.94 goals-against average, a .906 save percentage, and 4 shutouts. In the current 2025-26 season, he has appeared in 39 games for Toronto, going 15-16-7 with a 3.34 goals-against average, a .899 save percentage, and 2 shutouts.

The Pro Reads sessions with Woodley have covered a range of game situations in depth. On breakaways, Woll described his approach as one built on practiced instinct rather than in-game calculation Breaking Down a Breakaway vs the Greatest Scorer in HistoryJoseph Woll Pro Reads 17. "It's not something I think about at all in the moment," he said of his depth positioning relative to the shooter. "It just happens" Joseph Woll Pro Reads 17. The same principle applied to his read on Alexander Ovechkin during a breakaway: "You just play goalie in your eyes and you trust that your body will follow and react to what you see. You can't be thinking and stopping the puck at the same time" Breaking Down a Breakaway vs the Greatest Scorer in History. He credited goalie coach Curtis Sanford as the setting where that thinking does occur: "That's when I do the thinking. That's when I pull myself apart" Breaking Down a Breakaway vs the Greatest Scorer in History.

On 5-on-3 power plays, Woll outlined a depth philosophy of staying closer to the goal line and prioritizing upper-body movement to maintain sightlines while keeping his lower body as still as possible Joseph Woll Pro Reads 16. "The important thing is you want to stay square to the shooter and I think that happens in your lower body, but you have to see the puck, which I think happens more in your upper body," he said Joseph Woll Pro Reads 16.

Woll has been forthcoming about plays he would have handled differently. After a save on a down-low 2-on-1 against Tim Stutzle and Vladimir Tarasenko, he identified an early commitment to Reverse-VH as the source of the resulting desperation. "Ideally I'd like to be in an overlap," he explained, adding that patient feet would have produced a cleaner save Joseph Woll Pro Reads 14. A backdoor save off Tarasenko from a cross-ice, no-look pass by Erik Brannstrom prompted a similar self-critique: "The reason I am late is because I don't know he's there. I'm puck focused. I didn't take a look" Joseph Woll Pro Reads 15.

Woll has also discussed the evolution of specific technical habits over time. He described learning a toe-to-skate post transfer from watching Sergei Bobrovsky, later refining it into regular practice: "The transfer when you have skate-on post is much quicker but you still have that hole, so if you can blend it, you get the best of both worlds" Joseph Woll Pro-Read 6. He credited Carey Price as an influence when discussing blending technique with athleticism: "Watching Carey Price growing up he's probably the most technically sound goalie but you still had times when he's athletic and it's important" Joseph Woll Pro Reads 15. His approach to staying tall through screens was shaped in part by exposure to Andrei Vasilevskiy Joseph Woll Pro-Read 4.

On managing behind-the-net situations, Woll described a shift in philosophy tied to getting scored on in the Stanley Cup Playoffs while staying on his feet. "Risk management is exactly what it is," he told Woodley, noting he had discussed the change with Sanford Joseph Woll ProRead 12. His breakaway depth guideline — heels at the crease edge when the shooter is at the top hash marks, toes at the edge when the shooter reaches the bottom hash — is one he described as practiced to the point of being automatic Joseph Woll Pro Reads 17.