Woll joined the Marlies for practice on Wednesday after the Leafs loaned him to the AHL club for a conditioning stint.
Woll joined the Marlies for practice on Wednesday after the Leafs loaned him to the AHL club for a conditioning stint.
The Toronto Marlies took to the ice for practice on Wednesday morning after a day off, and manning one of the nets was Joseph Woll.
The 25-year-old was sent to the Marlies from the Maple Leafs on a conditioning loan as he returns to full health after suffering a high-ankle sprain on Dec. 7 against the Ottawa Senators.
"He was assigned down here to get some reps, and again, just trying day-to-day to get himself ready," Marlies head coach John Gruden said on Wednesday, "and that's all I know [right now]."
The last time Woll spoke to the media was last week following a practice with the Maple Leafs. He said he was feeling good then, but how does the ankle feel now?
"A lot better than a week ago," Woll said. "It's been noticeable progress each week that I've been in recovery, and especially this past couple of weeks, I've gotten a lot more comfortable in positions that bothered before."
A conditioning loan in the AHL can last up to six days and three games. After the time is up, Woll can return to the NHL, or if the Maple Leafs want to, they're allowed to request an extension of two more games.
The Marlies have two games this weekend — on Friday and Saturday — in Laval, where it's possible Woll could play. However, for the time being, the Marlies and the netminder are taking it a day at a time.
"I don't think that's decided yet," Woll said.
"Right now, for me, like it's been through this injury, it's been pretty day-to-day. Today was a great day and I'm looking forward to coming tomorrow and having another one."
When Gruden was pressed about whether the Maple Leafs' goalie would get into a game this weekend, he left the door open for it being a possibility.
"I don't know, I haven't heard anything yet. It may be an option," Gruden said. "But I don't know at this particular point. But, if he is, I'll take that. It'll be a pretty good present for us, so that would be exciting for the guys, and for us, if that is the case."
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was asked about Woll following Toronto's morning skate in Arizona. He said the organization hopes he feels good by the end of this week, and that they had a plan for him to join the Marlies last week.
"I wouldn't say we have a target date necessarily," Keefe added of when the netminder might see NHL action. "Other than to say the hope is that he feels good at the end of this week to be able to rejoin our team, and then, kind of get back up to NHL speed, which he has been working his way towards that in practices.
"He'll get a couple of Marlies practices here this week with hopes that he builds towards playing in a game for them this weekend. And then, we'll take it from there, whether to give him more time there or bring him back. But it's going to be, really, based on how he feels.
"Quite honestly, we had a bit of a plan a week ago for him to go [to the Marlies] and start spending time and building his way back to be prepared to join us on this road trip, and he didn't feel comfortable, or ready, at that time. So, it's really just about how he feels and we’ll take it day-to-day from there and then make a decision. It’s probably more on Joseph at this point than it is us."
Woll had the net at one end at Marlies practice and Dennis Hildeby — who has a .913 save percentage through 25 AHL games this season — was in goal at the other end of the rink.
It's possible that both goaltenders have a long future in the Maple Leafs organization.
"He's a big dude," Woll said of Hildeby with a grin. "You get a lot of big goalies that can't move as well as some of the normal height or smaller guys, and [Hildeby's] movement is like he's six foot. It's pretty awesome to see.
"It's a cool combination of skill that you don't really see that much."
The Maple Leafs have gone 17-10-4 since Woll was injured, which is a pretty strong record with one of their top goaltenders out of the lineup. With that being said, the goaltender was asked if seeing the success of the team made the recovery a little bit easier.
Woll, while giving praise to both Martin Jones and Ilya Samsonov, who've both held the fort down for Toronto, offered a glimpse into his own mind.
"My focus is trying to help the Leafs win a Stanley Cup," he added. "It's been awesome to see different guys stepping up at different times with [Martin Jones] and [Ilya Samsonov].
"It's been great seeing us maintain our spot in the standings and that's my goal. That's what's in the back of my mind every day when I come to the rink."
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