Maple Leafs Full Media Availability | Practice | November 14, 2025

Maple Leafs Full Media Availability | Practice | November 14, 2025

Joseph, uh, how would you describe where you’re at after the AHL stand? Uh, I feel great. Um, ready to go. What’s that mean to you to be back at this stage? Uh, yeah. I mean, it’s been a bit of a weird start to the season. Um, like we we’ve talked about before, but um, yeah, I’m just really happy to to be here, be back. Um, got to play, you know, game and a half there and um, just pumped pumped to get going. What was the value of getting the opportunity to see some game action after a little bit? Yeah, I mean the last last game was a little little while ago, so just kind of get your feet under you, get back into the game, and um like riding a bike, so it was good to get back out. How much has it felt like a mini training camp for you? How much has it kind of resembled that? Um you know, truthfully, hasn’t really felt like that. Um training camp, I think, is there’s a certain feeling in the the air like everyone, you know, stress goes up and everything uh gets pretty intense pretty quick. this just feel like I kind of hopped into the the middle of the season which um I’ve actually done more often than not so it’s it’s comfortable for me on the ice. What what signs do you look forward to say you know timing wise or anything else says I’m ready for your set? Yeah, I think uh a couple big things are just kind of my pace that I move at. Um making sure I’m moving quickly and um have my feet under me type of thing and uh just kind of like the reads of the game. So, I feel like those are both uh where they need to be and um have a good mindset and ready to go. Was there some urgency to get ready quicker because of No, I mean uh we we made a game plan and uh we’ve we’ve stuck stuck to it and um unfortunate timing with with Anthony um you know for for him to go down like that, but um I’ve kind of stuck to to my game plan and it just kind of worked out this way. How happy are you that you’re put right in a situation where they obviously need you to kind of what’s happening with the team the last few days. Um yeah, I mean that’s kind of a I don’t know if I would necessarily phrase that like I’m excited that this opportunity is here because someone’s hurt. Um but I’m I’m excited to be back in the net and help the team or just the team. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Like um regardless of what situation I come into, I’m going to have the same mindset. Um, it’s game one, you know, Stanley Cup finals, doesn’t matter. I think, uh, you know, I’ve I’ve realized the importance of consistency in that way and, um, just going to come out and do my best. Um, stick to my routine and do the things I know. What are the trips to Chicago like for you? Does it feel somewhat like a home trip for you because it’s so close to Yeah, it is. It’s, you know, in the Midwest, kind of breathe in the same air in a way and um, yeah, it’ll be nice to be close to home. Have you had any conversations with Anthony during this stretch? Uh, I’ve had some conversations with Anthony and um, yes, I’ve been around, you know, a couple weeks and we’ve we’ve chatted and um, kind of getting his thoughts on what’s going on and stuff like that. So, um, yeah, I mean, he he’s been in a lot of games, so he can have some good insight there. Was this game always the one you had circled for your return? Um, you know, I I don’t think I necessarily had a a game circled for my return here, but I think my my plan was to play those games with the Marlies and to rejoin the team today and um, you know, I’m ready to go when when I’m needed. The team has talked about better breakouts. What role do you feel as a goal you can help to influence a kind of a smoother exit from the from the defensive end? Yeah, I think being on the same page with the defenseman is is a big thing. And um been with these D now for for a little while and hopefully we can get back on the same page in that way. And the other thing is just communication. I think it’s, you know, my job to be talking as much as I can back there. And um that’s something I think Stoleie is really great at that I’ve I’ve tried to get better at is is just communicating. How do you feel the mustache has come along? Uh it’s good. Um it’s kind of blonde and orange, but um yeah, not not too bad. Well, what made it tough to generate shots, sustain zone time against the Kings last night? Yeah, I thought they were just, you know, all over us. We didn’t really get any uh you know, clean looks. Um I think we did a good job in neutral, but they were just hammering us, you know, going quick up uh you know, keeping us in our Done. So, I felt like we were just kind of chasing, but we battled. So, step in the right direction. Coach talked yesterday about uh needing to be able to break out of your own end a little bit more cleanly. What What do you think needs to happen for that? Yeah, I think we just all got to come back and you know be together. Um you know, tape tape passes, hold ups for the D for the four checkers coming in. Give them some more time. Um you know, make the game easy on each other. The uh the second goal by LA, the FIA goal, what what went wrong in that shift from from your perspective? I don’t know. It was long. I was pretty tired. So, that’s probably what happened. You You’ve been playing a bit more the last few games. Is that a an adjustment at all? Like numbers been up over 21 minutes? No. I I just think that shift in particular ended up being a long one. It was second period and, you know, couldn’t get a change. So, as a leader on the team, do you do anything differently at a time like this when the team’s losing some games? Yeah, I just try to, you know, talk and, you know, be positive. I think that’s important. um in this kind of uh time and I mean we will uh turn around. Just got to you know have each other’s backs. What have you seen from Joe as he gets closer to getting some game action here? Um he he’s been looking great today. He was uh unreal. So uh he’s been looking really good and be nice to have him back. What are the games in Chicago like for you? What do you like about playing at the United Center? H it’s awesome. Um you know been in that ranks when I was a kid too. So, um, a lot of fun, uh, memories running around there in that, uh, family room with, uh, my brother, you know. So, yeah, a lot of fun and, you know, friends and family there as well. How much have you been able to track with Conor Manard this season? Yeah, I’ve seen, uh, seen a little bit my um, my uh, one of my really good family friends is the assistant coach there. Uh, so I’ve been keeping tabs on them and has been doing a really good job this year, scoring a lot, playing really good hockey. It’s been rare to get practice time here lately. Uh you stayed out pretty late. Is there anything you were like focusing on today for for you? Yeah, just some stuff, you know, to, you know, work on the stuff that I’m good at and get better at. So, um I think that time is important to be able to get those things done and, you know, as of late has haven’t been able to. So, you know, just sharpen up a few things out there. This is a city that can hit the panic button pretty early when the team is struggling a little bit. Uh what’s the mood like in the locker room right now in terms of do you guys obviously not you’re not I know you’re not paying attention to what’s happening because you told us that you don’t but is there been a pretty good positive attitude despite the slump here in the locker room? Yeah, I think we’re still you know positive. We’re uh you know I feel like we know that we’re able to play better and I think that’s that’s the thing that is important. If we felt like we couldn’t play better, then it’d be pretty pretty tough to be uh to be hopeful and cheerful. But we know we can do better. And you know, like I’ve said before, it’s small adjustments that will make uh make a big difference. And you know, once we uh are able to sort that out uh and play together as five guys out there, it’ll be good. Unusual kind of skit here for the group four games. Like how would you describe the mood, the atmosphere? What are you sensing? Yeah, I think right now we’re we’re in a position where we’re all uh you know trying to dig in and uh bring more out of ourselves and um you know try to break this little slump and and get playing some good hockey. Craig had mentioned he feels like maybe confidence is missing a bit right now when when you’re going through something like that in the middle of the season. How do you get it back? I guess I think it’s a natural thing. Um you know I don’t think that it’s gone completely. I think it’s just one of those times where um you know, you’re trying to dig your way out and um you know, we got to stick together here and kind of build ourselves back up and get playing some good hockey. So, you know, I mean, I think we have all the belief in the world that our group’s capable of doing that. Uh but it’s a good league. I mean, you know, everyone’s out there uh uh competing and um so we’re no different. We’re doing our best and you know, we’re going to look to get on the right track. What did you take from the first period last? Yeah, I think that there was lots of good things. Even as the game went on, I thought we did some good things. Um, but I thought they just uh were able to kind of, you know, play the the the three/ quarter ice game um against us. And so for us, we have to break out cleaner, get in on our for check, kind of establish that ozone time. I didn’t think we had enough of that after the first period. And if we’re able to do that, then, you know, we’re in a good spot. Just the idea of maybe this team having a little perspective when it comes to Yeah, it’s been tough. those guys out of the lineup, but we’re when you look at the standings, you realize just how close this thing still is to getting back to where we are. For sure. Uh uh no one’s uh uh taken the situation lightly. Uh but we’re trying to keep everything in perspective just, you know, the time of year and how close the standings are. Um but that being said, we’re all eager to to be here, put the work in, um to dig our way out, and um you know, that’s what we’re trying to do. That’s our main focus. And I think we have a decent understanding of of of how we’re going to do that and you know what that’s going to require. And so now it’s up to us to go and put in the work and to to execute tomorrow night and then we’ll come back home. I think we got two road games before a long I’m sorry two home games before a long road trip. Um, so you know, we’re we’re right in the fight right now. And it’s, you know, it’s not it’s not exactly the position you want to be in right now, but this is, you know, the the the challenge and it’s fun and you want to dig your way out. You want to stick together and, you know, rise to the challenge as an individual and as a team. In this city, there’s a magnifying glass put on the team when there’s struggles. How do you block out or is it how important is it to block out the outside noise? Yeah, it’s important. Um, you know, that plays no role with our group. You know, we’re in here in control of our own work ethic and our own execution and that’s it. What’s the key to our break? Yeah, exactly. We’re so easy guys out so cleanly. What’s the key in the back of your head like what’s going on? Um, I think there’s that there’s been periods of time where we’ve done it. Okay. Um, you know, with the D, I think it starts with um with communication and I mean we have a plan. We have systems in place. um you know depending on where the puck is you know we have um you know plans to fall back on. So it’s about executing really. I think that’s what it comes down to. And you know you can be in the right spots, you can communicate, you can do everything right, but if you don’t execute um it’s going to lead to some breakdowns and I think you know at times last night I think that’s what happened. We did a lot of things right and then you know you miss one play or you don’t execute on a play that you you need to make and then you get hemmed in. And so, you know, for us, I think the emphasis has to be on on executing and um just building our game. So, you mentioned the word fun there when you’re answering Ryan. Where do you find how do you find the fun? Well, it’s, you know, it’s not fun. Uh I I was, you know, it’s just a phrase, but this is the challenge. This is what, you know, when you say you want to be an athlete, you want to, you know, go through ups and downs, like, you know, this is the challenge. You’re you’re in the fight and you know, these games are important and um it’s a challenge right now. It’s a grind. Um, but as an athlete, you got to kind of appreciate that and, you know, be grateful that you’re in a position where, you know, we believe in ourselves and I mean, we’re going to go out and work and, you know, no one’s going to do it for you. You got to go out and do it. So, you know, that’s how we’re looking at it. What have you seen from Joe as he gets closer to getting some? Yeah, it’s been awesome having Joe back in the building. Um, he seems great. He’s, you know, playing well on the ice in practice and, um, so we’re looking forward to having him, um, around more often. Do you do anything differently like when the team’s going through a skit like this? Like as a a member of the leadership group as a business kind of as usual. I think everyone tries to step up, you know? I think I think you you want to be more vocal. You want to be more supportive, more positive. And you know, right now, you know, you’re trying to get the most out of yourself in all in all facets of of what you’re doing. So, uh, Joseph just said he’s like good to go whenever the call’s number. Do you plan to get him right back tomorrow night? Yeah, I’m not sure yet, but thinking about it, definitely. What have you seen from Joe as he gets closer to getting the match in here? Well, we haven’t seen him that much. I mean, he’s same old Joe to me in practice, like what I see. You know, he’s hard worker. Uh, he looks good in that. Um, you know, I he went down and played a couple games with the Marlies, which is good, I think, getting into game action, but he seems normal to me and ready to go. What do you think it means to the team that he’s now back? Well, it means a lot to the team. I mean, um, obviously him leaving at that point was a surprise and, you know, obviously c, you know, catches everybody off guard, but big part of our team last year. What kind of tone did you want us to set today? Uh, you know, obviously the team’s looking for something. Yeah, I think your solutions, you know, I think we’ve uh did some of that last before last game. Um, I like some of the things that we worked on and just more of the same today. you know, just trying to find a way to like we’re just defending too much. So, you know, we got to we have we have we need to puck more. We need to advance it more like I talked about and get more get more play in the offensive zone. Practice day like what did you like maybe about what you saw today? What what do you I think the guys um yeah, I thought the guys worked. They had they had pretty good energy out there which is good. I mean things aren’t good right now. A lot of times you can come in today with practice and you know everybody’s hanging their heads and kind of going through the motions. I didn’t see that today which is good. You know it’s like we had energy guys worked hard. They did what we asked them to do and just trying to reinforce things here. You know we just get going in the right direction and you never know. Not that you put too much pressure on Joseph or Easton who’s here now. But how do you feel about them coming in situation now? Well I I’ve liked Cowboy this year too. um think he’s he’s given us some really good games up here. Um you know, it was just a move that was made for roster reasons and things like that, but he’s back. I thought he looked really good out there today and uh we’re excited to have uh Wool back, too. At a time like this, I’m sure you lean on on your leaders more. Uh what do you want to see from Knander from a leadership perspective? You know, you talked about him growing into a bigger role this year. What do you want to see from him right now? Um I think more like he’s shown it and to me he has shown it and I think he’s shown it in the room too. Um you know on the ice I just little bit more consistency you know there’s there’s good there’s a lot of good like he does but then it kind of a little bit inconsistent. So consistency just staying with it and working. You got to you know you get into these situations and um as a team and individuals you got to work your way out of it. You know, that’s that’s how you get out of it. Yes, you got to, you know, we can confidence is a funny thing, but you want to get your confidence confidence back. You go and work and get it back. That’s how you get your confidence back, you know. Yeah, we got we’re at an adversity right now. Well, what are we going to do? We’re going to go through that adversity, go through that wall, find a way to get through it, climb over the wall, whatever it is, you know, you got to push your way through it as a team and every individual. You had a team meeting on uh on Monday on the day off. How rare is that? Had a team meeting on a Monday and a day off. Few days ago, Boston. Oh, in Boston. It wasn’t a day off. It was a travel day. Okay. So, we were traveling after backtoback games. So, when I got into Boston, I wanted to have a meeting after the weekend. Craig, it was like that’s it. Craig, you’ve been with teams in the past off to slow starts, particularly that Stanley Cup team in St. Louis. Uh, what’s the difference between the way the city and the media react in Toronto versus other places you’ve been here? Well, you can answer that question for yourself, can you? Well, what do what do you know? I mean, listen, I I obviously there’s a lot more media here and the Leafs are a huge part of hockey, obviously, in in the NHL, obviously in Canada, and there’s there’s a lot more talk and a lot more noise. And we discussed that today, too. I mean, noise there. You guys are doing your job and you’re going to do your job and there’s a lot of people that are going to talk and it’s like the Leafs are big. So, there’s going to be a lot of talk about it, but you got to like shut that off the best you can and focus on what you need to do night in and night out every day practice. You got to try to focus. That’s all. I mean, it’s it’s a lot more. We know that. So, that’s nature of the beast. Any updates on Anthony, Austin, Chris? Well, Austin will be a week, right? I I told I talked to you guys about that. Anony’s still dayto-day and uh Carlo and N are maintenance today. What about Tann? Nothing Nothing really new on Tanith. You know, trending in the right direction, but it’s going to be a bit I don’t know how long yet for him. Obviously, you’re you’re I’m just wondering as a coach, you know, they’re they’re dealing with confidence right now. how you balance the the need to, you know, highlight some of the things that need to improve with trying to still be positive to help them get through. Like, how do you balance? Yeah, you it is a balancing act, but you got to do both. But you got you got to keep teaching and um improving on mistakes, but at the same time, there’s good stuff, too, and try to instill confidence that way. So, it’s a it’s it’s a balancing act, but you can’t just go away from mistakes and not try to correct them. That’s not going to do anything.

Players and Head Coach address the media following Friday’s practice.

00:00 Joseph Woll
03:52 William Nylander
07:21 Morgan Rielly
12:02 Craig Berube

SUBSCRIBE: https://tml.hockey/3FvgtoG
FOLLOW US
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/torontomapleleafs/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapleleafs/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs
#Leafs #LeafsForever #TorontoMapleLeafs