Toronto Maple Leafs’ Joseph Woll continues to work way back

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Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube isn’t anxiously watching Joseph Woll’s every move when the injured goaltender is on the ice, wondering when the Leafs will see him in a game again.

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Woll is getting closer to making his season debut as he works through lower-body tightness and was taking shots at the Ford Performance Centre on Thursday as some of his teammates took part in an optional practice.

Will Woll be a full participant in practice on Friday?

“We’ll see how today goes and then we’ll make a decision on it,” Berube said. “We’re not going to rush him.”

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There is no reason to, not with the way that Anthony Stolarz has performed with Woll out of the lineup.

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The 6-foot-6 Stolarz hasn’t had to fish many pucks out of the net in his three starts, stopping 79 of 84 shots for a .940 save percentage. And, in his only game, Dennis Hildeby was sharp and registered a victory last week against the New Jersey Devils in his National Hockey League debut.

What Stolarz is doing is not a revelation for Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. As teammates with the Florida Panthers last year, Ekman-Larsson witnessed the impact of Stolarz whenever the latter’s number was called in his backup role behind Sergei Bobrovsky.

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“Reads the play well, (and) he puts in work off and on the ice,” Ekman-Larsson said. “I’m happy for him, and it’s great to have him here. I think he’s going to be a big part of (what the Leafs accomplish this season).

“He’s a funny guy, easy going. Great guy. It’s a lot of fun being around a guy like that.”

Also getting in some on-ice work on Thursday was centre Fraser Minten, who is recovering from a high ankle sprain suffered against Montreal in a prospect game in September.

“He’s getting a lot better,” Berube said. “He’s pretty close. That’s as good as I can give you.”

The expectation is that Minten will join the Toronto Marlies when he is ready to return.

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