Joseph Woll Absent From Maple Leafs Practice Ahead of First Preseason Game

While the Maple Leafs head to Ottawa to face off against the Senators in their first preseason game, the team has to now focus on the group back home who have been dealing with some early season injuries to some key players including Simon Benoit and Nic Roy.

Roy has returned to the ice, as has Max Domi after his injury scare but one who is still missing is goaltender Joseph Woll; who has been missing the last couple of days due to an illness.

Unfortunately for both Woll and the Maple Leafs, whatever he's dealing with is still clearly affecting him as he was absent from Sunday's practice with the group not traveling to Ottawa:

It's not the first time that the illness bug has swept through the Maple Leafs locker room, as it was a cause for concern last year and while thankfully it seems only Woll has been affected; it's still a damper nonetheless.

It was unlikely that Woll would have made a difference in Ottawa considering that group is not the one scheduled to be the main roster contingent, it at least gives him time to rest and recover.

But it's also something that we're all too familiar with regarding Woll. He's been hurt a few times in his young career and even missed the first month of the 2024-25 season. That's not a good look and for a team that depends heavily on the health of their goaltenders; it's a tough road to navigate.

Woll started in 41 games last year for the Leafs, splitting duties with Anthony Stolarz and at times Dennis Hildeby; he posted a 27-14-1 record with a 2.73 GAA and .909 SV%.

Combined with Stolarz, the duo made for a formidable partnership and set some pretty impressive records along the way and if Toronto is going to be successful this season, they need both men to be in top form both on and off the ice.

So while we wait and see how quickly Woll recovers, the only hope is that we don't keep hearing more injury news before the real season even begins.