The Maple Leafs practiced at Ford Performance Centre on Thursday.
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Anthony Stolarz has the slogan, 'PROVE PEOPLE WRONG,' painted on the back of his mask.
"There's always going be people who doubt you and it's been like that for everybody," the Leafs goalie said. "People kind of don't want us to succeed and it's up to you to battle through that adversity and come out on top."
At age 30 and in his eighth NHL season, Stolarz is looking to become the go-to guy for the first time. And he's trying to do it while playing under the microscope in a hockey-mad market.
"His demeanour is just very calm and relaxed, easygoing," said centre John Tavares. "I think you see that in the net."
Stolarz, who stands 6-foot-6, has certainly silenced the doubters so far. He's off to a scintillating start with a .928 save percentage, which is fourth best in the league.
"So big in there, so calm in there," observed winger Max Pacioretty. "Calm when he's off the ice as well. Just kind of all the characteristics of a really good goaltender."
Stolarz is locked in, but also laidback. Also on his mask is the motto, 'No excuses. Play like a champion,' which is a line from the movie Wedding Crashers.
"It was one of my favourite movies growing up," he said of the Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson comedy, which hit theatres in 2005. "I just thought it would be something cool to put on there."
The words are meaningful as well.
"At the end of the day, no one's going to feel sorry for you," said Stolarz, who overcame a serious knee injury earlier in his career. "You're the one that's out there. You gotta go out there and work hard."
Stolarz played like a champion last year when he was the back-up goalie on the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. He started a career high 24 games and finished with a .925 save percentage.
A second-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012, Stolarz has been a crease crasher since turning pro. He's played for five NHL teams, two AHL teams and one ECHL club. In recent years, he played behind Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida and John Gibson in Anaheim so there was no real chance to seize the No. 1 job.
Until now.
Stolarz signed a two-year, $5-million deal with the Leafs in the summer in the hopes of getting more playing time. Still, he started the year behind incumbent goalie Joseph Woll on the depth chart. When Woll was sidelined by groin tightness on the eve of the season, Stolarz stepped in and stepped up. On Friday, he's expected to make a third straight start when the Leafs host the Detroit Red Wings. It will be his first chance to experience the annual Hockey Hall of Fame Game in Toronto.
"It's going to be exciting," he said. "The first I heard about it was about 20 seconds ago."
It will be his 10th game of the season. He didn't make his 10th start last year until January.
Stolarz isn't getting caught up in the hype. He's keeping his mind in the present.
"Try not to reflect on anything in the past, any goals you give up, because you can't really control that," he said. "It's a mentality I've adopted these last couple........