Some days the news cycle is wild; Other days it’s just a steady stream of updates that say a lot about where the organization is going or its past. This tends towards the second category. Yet a lot happens at the edges of the selection. More and more interest is being generated, a goalkeeper is working his way back into the mix and for the first time in a while an old Marlies name is popping up again.
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It’s a good reminder of how big the Toronto maple leaves system is real. You have kids trying to force their way into the conversation, veterans trying to stay in it, and former players whose stories are resurfacing. Let’s take a look at the three items making noise today.
Point one: Miroslav Holinka continues to climb – Three-point night and rise quickly
Miroslav Holinka himself still had a night, even if the Western Hockey League (WHL) was Edmonton Oil Kings suffered an 8-4 loss of the Brandon Wheat Kings. He finished with a goal and two assists and was one of the few players who actually looked dangerous on every shift. That is his recent oeuvre. He has scored ten points in his last seven games and plays with the confidence of a prospect who knows he can break through.
The season figures are even better: 32 goals and 40 assists in 49 games. For a fifth-round pick starting in 2024, that’s a huge step forward. He shoots more, stimulates the game and shows much more consistency than last year. If he keeps up this pace, he will force the Maple Leafs to move his name higher on the organization’s depth chart.
Point two: Joseph Woll returns to practice and looks ready
The Maple Leafs got some good news when Joseph Woll returned to practice after missing a session with the flu. Nothing serious, just a disease reset. This is important because the team needs both him and Anthony Stolarz to leave when the schedule resumes.
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Woll’s numbers are steady: 13–7–4 with a .908 save percentage, two shutouts and the calming style his teammates love. When he’s on, the whole team looks a little more organized to him. With the Tampa Bay Lightning next, the crease is likely a nightly competition between Woll and Stolarz. At least now both guys are healthy enough to make a real push.
Point three: Josh Ho-Sang joins the conversation again
Every now and then a name from the past pops up again, and this week it’s Josh Ho-Sang. Hard to believe it’s been a few years since he had that season with the American Hockey League (AHL) Toronto Marlies, where he showed off all the skills that made him such a hyped first-round pick. The hands, the creativity: he still had it. But the Maple Leafs didn’t re-sign him, and that departure kicked off another strange, twisting chapter of his career.
(Amy Irvin / The hockey writers)
Since then, he’s been everywhere: Sweden, the ECHL (where he won a Kelly Cup), a brief run in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and, most recently, another try in Russia that ended abruptly. He got injured early, never got into a game, and was released on February 10. Now he’s 30, a free agent again and trying to figure out what the next step even looks like. Ho-Sang’s career has always been a mix of talent, strange hubris and difficult turns. This latest twist fits right into that pattern.
What’s next for the Maple Leafs?
The Maple Leafs resume their schedule Wednesday with a back-to-back at Florida, and the next stretch feels like it’s important. They face competition, prospects coming from below and deep decisions coming soon.
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Holinka’s strong rise gives them an option for another season. Woll’s return gives them stability at the moment. The story of Ho-Sang? That’s a reminder that skills alone aren’t always enough, and that hockey careers don’t always follow a straight line.
Even if there are no games, there is plenty to keep an eye on as the Maple Leafs head into the next part of the season.
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