Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz preparing himself for an offensive zone rush from the Detroit Red Wings.

Photo credit: Sportsnet Stats Twitter

Anthony Stolarz has been blown away by the talent, poise, and professionalism of Dennis Hildeby in the absence of Joseph Woll, who began the year on IR.

It’s not exactly how the Toronto Maple Leafs drew it up, but Stolarz has shown he is more than capable of handling the lion’s share of games to start the season with Woll sidelined due to a lower-body injury.

Woll was always seen as the 1A to Stolarz’s 1B and although the season is still very young, the latter has been lights out to begin his Maple Leafs tenure, and with that comes a sense of comfortability in a position that has driven the Leafs and it’s fan base crazy in recent memory.

On the flip side, Woll’s injury has given rookie netminder Dennis Hildeby an opportunity to not only play at the NHL level, but to see how things are done at the highest level and learn from veterans like Stolarz. The 23-year-old made his NHL debut last week and turned in a really solid performance en route to the victory against the New Jersey Devils.

Hildeby may have very little experience in the league, but Stolarz has been blown away by his tandem-partner and has been nothing but complimentary about his work ethic, poise, and overall gamesmanship:
“You look at his poise in the net and, you know, they would get a goal and didn’t even phase him, didn’t rattle him,” Stolarz said of Hildeby’s game. “He kind of looked like a five-year veteran.”
 

 

It’s unclear how long Woll will remain sidelined, as well as how many games Hildeby will receive in his absence, considering the amount of days in between games this week. However, it’s become abundantly clear that the Maple Leafs are extremely confident in both of their goaltenders, and to their credit, Stolarz and Hildeby are working very well together.

Woll is now eligible to be activated off of injured reserve following the Leafs’ win over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. The 26-year-old has been on the ice a couple of times this week, which means that he is progressing. Thankfully, the play of Hildeby and Stolarz will allow the Leafs to take their time with Woll and make sure that he’s at 100% before coming off of IR.