Give the man his due - The Stolarz show

[BlueAzN]

This man has really Stolarz my heart. He's filled in and performed admirably. He's made some big saves, plays confident, and has brought stability into a messy situation.

Can we give this man his props? Like how is no one talking about him carrying us when our 1st line production was out of whack for the first two games.

Click to read more...

 

[The Shadow]

I remember seeing a video of Stolarz being interviewed after he signed with us. He said confidently he is a top goalie if I recall correctly. He’s not wrong so far. The numbers show he is a top 5 in the world at this moment

 

[TorMapleJays]

Was in the building, had no clue about that bare handed save. He’s a beauty. We got ourselves a gem boys (and girls)

 

[The Shadow]

Here is the interview

4:20 in

 

[BraveCanadian]

He’s been great so far and I hope he can keep it up

 

[Da Mash]

A real pleasant surprise .

Still early but it’s about time we got lucky in picking up what seems like a franchise goalie.

It seems like he has that “it” factor that we didn’t have with previous goalies.

It is the most important position and it’s one of the biggest factors to have playoff success.

 

[crump]

Size, calmness, resilience. Makes big saves. Feels safe in there. He’s a number 1.

Now have to get Woll going too. We will need at least 25 games from another goalie. No better time to start like shutting down the Habs tonight.

 

[TMLAM34]

He’s definitely proving a lot of people wrong. He’s looking like a number 1 out there. Takes some pressure off of Woll to just play his game and be that 1B.

 

[Anthrax442]

We have a Hakanpaa, now we have Handonpuck

 

[Dough72]

This man has really Stolarz my heart.

mods please ban immediately

 

[Goose]

mods please ban immediately

Mods can’t right now, server has power issues.

Don’t worry though, they’re switching to a backup generator that runs off Stolarz power.

 

[Chief Leaf]

He supplies that big agile body that can read the plays.

He sure brings on a calmness effect and I'm at the point where I don't even care when he drops his stick to make solid saves ala Hasek style.

Also moves the puck well.

We got a Keeper folks and it feels refreshing.

 

[Maple Leaf]

He supplies that big agile body that can read the plays.

He sure brings on a calmness effect and I'm at the point where I don't even care when he rops his stick to make solid saves ala Hasek style.

Also moves the puck well.

We got a Keeper folks and it feels refreshing.

 

[CapspaceKiller]

Stolarz is great, basically won the game last night. The offense was not clicking at all for long distances.

Stolarz earned the #1 spot.

 

[Evilhomer]

Was in the building, had no clue about that bare handed save. He’s a beauty. We got ourselves a gem boys (and girls)

It wasn't a save. He picked up a puck that was laying under his body.

 

[Maple Leaf]

It wasn't a save. He picked up a puck that was laying under his body.

Legend says he sniped it out of the air with his bare hand

 

[Evilhomer]

Legend says he sniped it out of the air with his bare hand

While fighting off a rabid wolf with his other hand.

 

[BallardEra]

“The Official Stolarz Glazing and Sac Lathering Thread”

I’m down for a few well deserved licks!!!

 

[Puckstuff]

I’m not sure what the ultimate potential is for the Woll/Stolarz duo, but it feels like we’ve got top 10-15 goaltending in the league right now. At this moment, they’re probably in the top 5, but if they can maintain themselves in the top 10-15 range that would be a huge win for us—especially considering we’re typically not even top 20.

 

[darrylsittler27]

The Leafs now have goaltending and depth. Stolarz, Woll, Hildeby and that Russian guy. Bravo! Bout bloody time!

 

[BlueAzN]

mods please ban immediately

You love it. Dont deny it

 

[Enniskillen]

One of the media articles about Stolarz. He is a salt of the earth guy, from a blue collar family, wish Leafs had more players like this:

“Stolarz said ‘I really want to get one good contract. I want to get my parents a house.’ That, to me, summed up what Anthony Stolarz is all about. He wanted to do the right thing for his family. His dad worked in a factory and worked so hard to get him through hockey.”

 

[HellasLEAF]

I agree with you OP. I guess I just don't want to get too optimistic yet. I'm a believer.

 

[ACC1224]

SIMMONS: The long and winding road for giant Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz

The long and winding hockey road for Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz. This is his fifth NHL team in the past seven seasons.

torontosun.com

“You get to know a lot of players in this game. You don’t happen to like all of them,” Eakins said. “But just as a person, this guy (Stolarz) is a 10 out of 10 human being. He’s a 10 out of 10 teammate. His teammates just love him. That started from Day 1 in San Diego. And after a month or so I remember Sudsie telling me, this guy is amazing.



“You think of the journey he’s been on. He’s had a lot of adversity. He’s had a lot of bad things to happen to him injury-wise. He’s been through a lot of rehab. A lot of guys wouldn’t have pushed through that.”



And last June, with Eakins watching on television from afar. He saw the Stanley Cup being presented to Stolarz in Florida after the Game 7 victory over Edmonton. And his eyes got moist.

The Leafs needed a goalie to pair with Joseph Woll this season. One of the first phone calls they made was to Woll’s agent, Allain Roy. They asked him about Stolarz.



Now, this is unusual: Roy happens to represent both of the Leafs goaltenders.



The Leafs had watched all kinds of tape on Stolarz, not just from his breakthrough season as a backup in Florida last year, but from the years before that. They wanted a broad look at the goaltender. To understand who he was and what his game could be.



“Curtis (McElhinney, Leafs director of goaltending development) was all over this,” Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said. “He was at the top of his list from the beginning.

Too bad they couldn't have gotten this guy a little earlier in his career.