Anthony Stolarz credits being ‘calm, cool, collected’ as recipe for early-season success

The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a 3-1-0 start to the season, thanks in large part to the play of goaltender Anthony Stolarz. From expected 1-B behind Joseph Woll to now making his case to be ‘the guy’ early on, Stolarz has quickly impressed the fan base, Toronto’s coaching staff, and his teammates. He’s loving every minute of it and sees himself as someone who can help control the game for the Maple Leafs.

After Toronto defeated the Los Angeles Kings 6-2 on Wednesday night, Stolarz spoke with Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff and opened up about how he’s been able to make an impact from the crease. More importantly, he looked extremely comfortable doing so.

“Absolutely – I think as a goalie that you can kind of control the game,” Stolarz told Larkin. “You can get whistles, and when the guys are watching you from the bench, you want to be in control. And obviously the other team, they’re looking at you as well, and if they see you scrambling, they think they’re gonna have some momentum.”

“So for me, it’s just about going out there, being calm, cool, collected, and playing my game. It helps that I’m a bigger guy, so I’m able to play a little deeper, but I also think I’m extremely agile as well, so it’s just a good combination.”

The 30-year-old Stolarz has been everything as advertised and more after leading the NHL in save percentage last season, followed by hoisting the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers. While, yes, it’s early, the numbers don’t lie. Stolarz has posted a 1.70 goals against average (GAA) and .941 save percentage (SV%). His strong start has not gone unnoticed by his new coach, Craig Berube, the Leafs’ bench boss is very impressed with how Stolarz carries himself on the ice.

“Body language is big, composure’s huge,” Berube mentioned. “I thought ‘Stoly’ had a great composure tonight in net. That team, they shoot a lot pucks from up top and they got traffic all the time. But he was really poised in the net tonight.”

Not only is the coaching staff noticing during games, but Stolarz doesn’t take a practice off either, working hard to master his craft.  After a dominant performance from Bobby McMann against the Kings, the Leafs winger spoke on Stolarz’s calmness and also touched on his ability to use his 6-foot-6 frame.

“Just calm, he’s a big body, he uses his size well, he cuts off the angles,” said McMann. “I know in practice there’s not really any net to shoot at when I’m shooting on him. He just stays composed all the time, and it seems like he’s always got the puck in front of him.”

With Woll battling injury troubles, Stolarz has been given the keys to the crease, and he’s doing everything he can to make the best first impression. So far, so good.