Joseph Woll is ready for a new adventure with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The 6-foot-3 netminder was acquired by the Flyers in a June 16 trade with Toronto after he spent the first 10 seasons of his professional career in the Maple Leafs’ organization.
“When it happened, it was pretty overwhelming,” Woll told TSN’s First Up on Tuesday. “I was drafted by Toronto 10 years ago and my whole professional life has been centred around one city and one group of people.
“As a player, you’re looking to build your life in a city and, in a way, it feels like your whole life is uprooted. Your brain goes to a million places, so it’s a bit overwhelming and emotional when it happens.”
Woll’s initial anxiety was eased a bit when he found out the full details of the trade. The Maple Leafs traded Woll and defenceman Simon Benoit to the Flyers in exchange for goaltender Samuel Ersson, defenceman Emil Andrae, and a draft pick.
Benoit happens to be one of Woll’s best friends on the Maple Leafs and he found it comforting that he wouldn’t be going through his first NHL trade alone.
“When I was first told about the trade, I had no idea what the details were,” said Woll. “I thought I was going through this next experience alone, which is when all the fear kicked in. About 15 minutes later, Benoit called me and he was so fired up. I had no idea I got traded with him.
“Hearing his voice and the excitement put me at ease because I wasn’t doing this on my own.”
Woll was drafted 62nd overall by the Maple Leafs in 2016 and has a career record of 63-43-9 in five NHL seasons with a 2.94 goals-against average and .906 save percentage.
After getting a taste of NHL action in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, Woll served as Ilya Samsonov’s backup during the 2023-24 season.
He made his mark on the during that playoff run, taking over for Samsonov in Game 4 of Toronto’s first-round matchup against the Boston Bruins. Woll then helped the team rally from a 3-1 series deficit to take Boston to a seventh game before bowing out.
The Dardenne Prairie, Mo., native marks Game 6 as his favourite memory as a Maple Leaf, where he stopped 27 shots in a narrow 2-1 win to extend the series.
“That third period, I was just having so much fun playing hockey,” said Woll. “I was having an absolute blast. We were holding on for dear life in an elimination game, and I remember the crowd being unbelievable. We ended up winning and after the game was a pretty special moment.
“A lot of those playoff moments in Toronto were so special. The city comes to life completely when the playoffs start. It’s a whole different animal and it’s something that I will never forget.”
Woll took off after that, sharing the starting role with Anthony Stolarz the following season as he went 27-14-1 with a 2.73 GAA and .909 save percentage to lead the Maple Leafs to an Atlantic Division title.
Toronto was able to defeat the Ottawa Senators in the playoffs before bowing up against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in seven games in Round 2.
Last season, however, Woll and the Maple Leafs took a giant step back with Toronto finishing last in the division with a 32-36-14 record. Woll went 15-16-7 with an .899 save percentage and 3.34 GAA in a season marred with injuries.
“From going from what we did [in 2024-25] to that last season, it was disappointing in comparison, it was really hard.” said Woll. “We had a lot of injuries, which was a major [reason]. It’s hard to get a rhythm, get consistent, and get everyone on board when guys are out consistently.
“We had a couple of little spurts where we were playing good hockey, but we couldn’t string it together long enough where we could get out of the depths.”
Woll is now joining a Flyers team that has gone through a rebuild and made the playoffs for the first time in six seasons.
He’s looking to build on his experiences, both good and bad, as he is excited to get to know his new team.
“From a personal performance standpoint, I wasn’t playing the best hockey that I know I’m capable of. So, I take responsibility for that,” said Woll. “A lot of those negative experiences, if you allow them to, have the most formative effect on your game. I feel like I can take things from last year that I hadn’t [learned] in previous years [and use them] moving forward.”
