Keith Petruzzelli
With the Toronto Maple Leafs starting the 2023-24 NHL season with goaltender Matt Murray on LTIR, Joseph Woll will be their backup goaltender behind Ilya Samsonov.
This leaves the Toronto Marlies’ starting goaltender job open for Keith Petruzzelli to claim.
Petruzzelli has bounced around the AHL and ECHL since joining the Marlies in the 2021-22 season. Last season he posted a 13-8-2 record in 25 AHL appearances.
He finished the season with a 2.90 GAA and a .909 SV%. With Woll playing up with the Leafs during the NHL playoffs, Petruzzelli was the Marlies’ goaltender for the 2023 AHL Calder Cup playoffs. He only played three of the Marlies’ seven playoff games due to a horrible 5.31 GAA and a .829 SV%.
The 24-year-old has a chance this season to put the Marlies on his back and help try to capture the Calder Cup. He will need to be better than last season.
Hopefully, with more games, he can build better momentum. For most goaltenders, repetition is critical. The more they play, the better they play. Fans will be hoping this is the case for Petruzzelli.
As the Marlies’ starting goaltender, he will have a lot of weight on his shoulders. Hopefully, he is capable of carrying it and having the best AHL season of his career.
As talented as the Marlies are, if they don’t get good goaltending, they won’t go far. The time appears to be now for Petruzzelli, so let’s hope he captures it.