Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Joseph Woll to Three-Year ELC

The month of March sure has been a busy one for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Having already handed out extensions to potential role players in Nic Petan and Andreas Borgman weeks earlier, Kyle Dubas has now seemingly shifted his focus over to the prospect pool moving forward. Earlier this morning, it was announced that the Maple Leafs had signed goaltender Joseph Woll to a three-year entry-level contract.

Woll’s signing comes three weeks after fellow prospect Mac Hollowell, who is currently storming through the OHL on the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds, was locked into an ELC of his own on March 7th.

A native of Dardenne Prarie, Missouri, Woll was chosen 62nd overall by Toronto in the third round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The 20-year-old netminder proceeded to spend the following three seasons playing for Boston College in the NCAA’s Hockey East Conference, posting save percentages of .913, .915, and .919, respectively. Woll represented the United States at the World Junior Championships on two occasions as well, earning a bronze medal in 2018 and a silver medal in 2019.

With Boston College’s season ending last night, it was relatively expected that Woll would receive an ELC sooner than later. The question lingering now, however, pertains to where exactly he will spend the remainder of 2018-19.

The most likely outcome for Woll is to join the Toronto Marlies on a tryout offer in the coming days for the purpose of spending time with the team’s developmental staff while acclimatizing himself to both the team and the city.

With Michael Hutchinson‘s departure over the summer all but assured given his pending UFA status and lack of openings in the Leafs’ net at the NHL level, it’s entirely possible that Woll will join the Marlies on a full-time basis next season to officially begin his professional career. As it stands now, he would form a tandem with Kasimir Kaskisuo, who has one year left on his existing deal.

Woll is now the fifth goaltender within the Maple Leafs system to be signed to an NHL contract, per CapFriendly. Along with Kaskisuo, he joins Hutchinson, Eamon McAdam, Ian Scott, Garret Sparks, and Frederik Andersen in a crease that seemingly grows more crowded by the day, and while Hutchinson likely won’t factor into the picture next season, McAdam is a pending RFA whose rights are retained by Toronto and Scott will reach the end of his Major Junior eligibility in the coming months.

The latter two could both theoretically challenge for a job on the Marlies next season, as well.

Regardless of where Woll ends up, the Maple Leafs clearly see him factoring into the organization’s long-term future. Stay tuned for more news.

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All stats courtesy of HockeyDB.com