Toronto – Anthony Stolarz has assumed many support roles.
After a junior career where he has often divided the net, the Hulking goalkeeper spent most of the next decade riding buses from the American hockey league and NHL benches.
Stolarz saw an opportunity when he signed with the Maple Leafs in a free agency last summer.
He took advantage of this chance – and now plays on the central scene.
The 31 -year -old arrested 57 of the 61 shots he faced in a pair of Toronto victories to open the club’s first -round eliminatory series with the Ottawa senators.
Stolarz had to be sharp when the score was close in a triumph of 6-2 in match 1. He then held the fort after his team blew an advance of 2-0 before making a 3-2 decision in extension in match 2.
“This is why you live,” said Edison’s product on Tuesday evening, soaked in sweaty, NJ, in the locker rooms of the Leafs. “It’s hockey in playoffs.”
Stolarz, which finished with a record of 21-8-3, a percentage of stops of 0.926, an average of goals and five shutouts in the regular season, had a little less than 35 minutes from the experience of the playoffs in the NHL in this spring after having occupied the role n ° 2 behind Sergei Bobrovsky in the race of Florida Stanley Cup last in June.
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“How (Bobrovsky) directed his daily routine and what it took to prepare and sit next to him in the locker room and speak to him, I think that went far enough for me,” said Stolarz, who had a safeguard percentage of .925 with Florida. “I’m just trying to take all this experience from last year and overthrow it.”
Before landing with the panthers, the six -foot six -inch and 243 pound goalkeeper had rebounded after being selected in the second round of the 2012 draft by the philadelphia flyers.
Stolarz, who missed time in 2024-25 with a knee injury, shared the Toronto fold with Joseph Woll for a large part of the regular season before separating in the section with eight consecutive victories – including whitening in three of his last four departures – to go hand in hand with a save percentage of 0.950 and a GAA of 1.40.
The Leafs winger Max Domi, who marked the OT Clincher in match 2, was his teammates with Stolarz in junior when the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey Hockey played in consecutive commemorative cuts in 2013 and 2014.
“He’s a player,” said Domi. “He has always been a player. Incredible teammates. “
The center of Toronto, John Tavares, said that there were lessons on the way to Stolarz.
“Never stop,” he said. “Continez in competition, continue to believe in you. His abilities that accompany this belief and this competitiveness, is an excellent combo. ”
Stolarz does not hesitate to stand up either. The breathtaking battle of Ontario, which continues Thursday in the national capital, has already seen many runs, notably Stolarz dropping the antagonist of Ottawa Ridly Greig in his fold on Tuesday.
“I also saw him in Junior,” said Toronto winger Mitch Marner, another former Knights. “He’s a great man. He stands for himself. “
The head coach of the Leafs, Craig Berube, was in Philadelphia when Stolarz was only wet his feet on a professional level.
“He came this year by wanting to be a starter,” said the boss of the winning bench of the 2019 Cup with St. Louis Blues. “He was excellent all year round … returning from the injury, it took him a little to settle.
“But he does the job for us now.”
Leafs defender Morgan Rielly, who has two goals in the series, said the group can play even better in front of their goalkeeper’s goalkeeper as part of a system led by Berube who demands a North-South approach and a commitment to make life difficult for opposition.
“It was exceptional,” said the Blueliner about Stolarz. “He answered the bell. There is no doubt that he was a stallion.”
Stolarz has long waited in this position. He appreciates the ride – and is not about to let the opportunity slide.
“Everything about patience,” he said. “Make sure I’m ready.”
This moment is now.
This Canadian press report was published for the first time on April 23, 2025.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press