Stolarz gets big chance in Leafs season opener
Published
The Maple Leafs held an optional skate at the Bell Centre on Wednesday.
Anthony Stolarz made an immediate impression on his new teammates in Toronto.
"Really, really, really good goalie," said veteran winger Max Pacioretty. "I don't think I scored a single goal on him in like the first four or five practices. It was starting to get me pretty upset. He's massive in there."
Stolarz stands 6-foot-6, 243 pounds, which made him the tallest and heaviest player on the Leafs roster to start the season.
"I know it's easy to say, 'He's big,' but sometimes big goalies have holes – whether it's holes by their feet or whatnot," Pacioretty continued. "He is just a very big presence in the net. It's hard to see any net when he's in there."
With scheduled starter Joseph Woll dealing with lower-body tightness, Stolarz will unexpectedly make his Leafs debut in Wednesday's season opener against the Montreal Canadiens.
"He's always ready when called upon," said forward Steven Lorentz, who was teammates with Stolarz with the Florida Panthers last season. "He's done that his whole career and I have the most confidence in him."
Stolarz was excellent in a backup role with the Stanley Cup champions last season. He posted a 16-7-2 record with a .925 save percentage. The 24 starts he made in Florida represented a career high. Now, the 30-year-old is out to prove he can carry the load for a contender.
"Even when he's on his knees I can't even go top shelf," said defenceman Simon Benoit, who played with Stolarz in Anaheim. "I know he'll be ready."
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Stolarz grew up idolizing Martin Brodeur and, as a result, loves playing the puck.
"As a D, there's nothing better than that," said Benoit. "When your goalie plays the puck it gives you so many more options, so much more time. You don't get hit as much, especially going back for pucks on those dumps. It's good for us."
On Tuesday, Stolarz said he felt instant chemistry with Toronto's defence core. What's the key to that?
"It depends how complicated you want to make it, I guess," said defenceman Morgan Rielly. "I mean, for us, I don't think it's overly complex. We worked on a couple things and he's a smart guy. He plays it extremely well, so there really wasn't too many issues with it."
Stolarz made three appearances in the pre-season and posted a .964 save percentage.
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Stolarz is no longer the tallest player on the roster. Dennis Hildeby, who is 6-foot-7, was called up on an emergency basis. He joined the Leafs for their optional skate in Montreal.
"Just like Stollie, he's so big," observed Lorentz, who scored once in 38 regular-season games last season. "You're coming down and you're looking for somewhere to shoot, so a guy like me will probably chip it in the corner rather than try and go high glove or something like that."
Lorentz smiles.
"We got great goalies in the system, whether it's Woller or the Beast over there," he continued. "Some big guys too, so they take up a lot of net so it's pretty intimidating being a shooter."
"That's why teams want to draft a big goalie," added Pacioretty. "That's why a lot of the top goalies are big."
Hildeby was an all-star in the American Hockey League last season. Woll has not been ruled out of Thursday's game in New Jersey, but the 23-year-old Swede may be in line for his NHL debut.
During a summer interview, TSN asked Hildeby if he's ready for NHL action.
"It's very hard for me to answer," he said. "It's not really something I think about a whole lot. I'm just trying to [run] my own race. Obviously, the main goal is going to be to get called up and eventually get a start. That's always what you strive for, but the answer is you don't really know until you try it out. So, we'll see about that. I'll try to do my absolute best and show them I'm ready mentally at least."
Hildeby was not made available to the media after Wednesday's skate.
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Mitch Marner is set to start the season without a contract extension, but Brad Treliving isn't expecting the situation to be a distraction.
"It's just playing hockey," the Leafs general manager said. "He's had a great summer. He's prepared ... I couldn't be more pleased with him during camp. He's got a lot of juice to him. He brings energy to our group. And then his on-ice play speaks for itself."
Marner hit the scoresheet in all three of his pre-season games, finishing with four assists.
"A great player in all facets of the game, in my opinion," said new head coach Craig Berube. "He had a ton of energy in camp. Very vocal guy and brings a lot of life to practices and things like that. I really enjoyed being around him and seeing how he interacts with his teammates and brings that energy in the dressing room every day."
Marner enjoyed getting to know Berube and the star winger thinks the coach's north-south system will suit his game.
"We have a lot of guys who can motor up and down the ice so, if anything, at some points it may make it easier," the 27-year-old said. "We know we want to be north. We want to be direct. When there are plays to be made, look to try and make them, but at the same time you know you have someone slashing through, someone trying to get behind D."
On a personal level, Marner's focus is a similar one heading into his ninth NHL season.
"I always talk about it as being more of a shot threat and being more of a goal scorer," he said. "Trying to get myself in better ice, trying to get my pucks on and off my stick quickly, and I'm going to try to work on that a lot this year."
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Benoit is a native of Laval, Que. so every game in Montreal is a big deal. This one, though, is extra special.
"It's my fourth year in the National [League] and it's my first opening night," the 26-year-old said. "I'm pretty pumped about it. I worked hard for this so pretty excited about tonight, and especially it's Montreal in front of family and stuff, so it's cool."
How many friends and family will he have at the Bell Centre?
"I think I'm playing for free tonight," he said with a laugh.
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Projected Leafs lineup for Wednesday's game:
F
Knies - Matthews - Marner
Domi - Tavares - Nylander
Pacioretty - Holmberg - Robertson (L)
Lorentz - Kampf - Reaves
D
Rielly - Tanev
Ekman-Larsson - McCabe (L)
Benoit - Timmins
G
Stolarz starts
Hildeby
Leafs lineup in last year's season-opening game:
F
Bertuzzi - Matthews - Marner
Domi - Tavares - Nylander
Knies - Minten - Jarnkrok
Gregor - Kampf - Reaves
D
Rielly - Brodie
McCabe - Klingberg
Giordano - Liljegren
G
Samsonov starts
Woll