Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll has been absent from the team dealing with a personal matter since Sept. 23 and has made his return back to the ice this week.
27-year-old met with the media for the first time since he returned and while he did not specifically mention the reason for his absence, he expressed a whole lot of gratitude.
Joseph Woll opened his media availability, thanking Brad Treliving and his Leafs teammates for respecting his privacy during his leave of absence. Here is Woll's opening statement: pic.twitter.com/zd7B63tUzD
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"I was going to say a few things just before we get started. I have a few thankyous. I want to make sure I say, namely to the Leafs organization and starting with Brad (Treliving) and working all the way down for all the support they've given me and my family for the last bit," Woll said via The Leafs Nation's Arun Srinivasan.
"I've really been blown away at how much support I've received and with that, a big thank you to my teammates as well and I've express that to them. Just for all the support they've given. And lastly, I want to thank you guys. I know I asked for privacy and you guys (Leafs media) have granted me that, so I really appreciate that as well.
"As we move forward now, I've kind of decided that all I'm going to say about my time away is that I'm disappointed to have missed time and very happy to be back. So, I'd really like all the focus to be on my job to do here and I don't want to create any distractions for myself or for the team.
"I think there's enough here to focus on. All I ask is that you guys respect that and if down the road I am interested and think it'd be beneficial to talk about, I'll initiate that."
As mentioned, Woll did not dive into specifics but it is outstanding to hear straight from the player just how supportive everyone around him was while he was going through his personal issue. Now, it's just back to playing hockey and being in between the pipes for the Maple Leafs.
Woll is expected to go on a conditioning stint down with the AHL's Toronto Marlies soon and can stay down there for a maximum of 14 days. Then, he can join the Maple Leafs when ready and supply tandem partner Anthony Stolarz with more support he's had all season long as he's dealt with Cayden Primeau's leaky performances.
In 42 appearances last season, Woll earned a .909 save percentage and 2.73 goals against average.