It is weird to imagine the Maple Leafs without Joe Woll. He was drafted 10 years ago with the 62nd pick, and now the Leafs have another third-rounder to use in a little over a week. In between there was a lot of AHL, some piano, and some utterly glorious NHL play.

He seems like such a good guy, and the Flyers are lucky to have him. You be good to him, Flyers fans!

Onward to the future, though, that's what this time of year is all about.

Last night Easton Cowan scored the only goal in Game 3 of the Calder Cup final. The Marlies now lead three games to none. Game 4 is on Thursday night and Game 5 is on Friday night if necessary, both in Toronto.

Some post buzzer action, so very AHL:

Yesterday an interview with Tinus Luc Koblar was published.

Svarar om framtiden – efter NHL-kontraktet
“Det kommer inte bli något AHL”
HockeysverigeRonnie Rönnkvist

Some of the Google translated content of interest, and note that the - denotes quoted statements:

The [NHL] contract means that the 18-year-old, who was actually born in Bled, Slovenia, could have the chance to play in the NHL as early as this fall.
– Of course it's extremely fun to get the chance to join an NHL team. It would have been a lot of fun, but now it's about having a good summer and training to increase my chances of playing there next season.
– Now I'm going to go to Toronto's development camp during the summer. Then I think it will be "main" camp in September.
What expectations do you have for the camps?
– My expectations are really just that I will do as well as possible. During the "main" camp I will meet players who have played in the NHL for a long time. The NHL is a tough league so it will of course be tough, but to fight for a spot there will be extremely fun.
Looking ahead, what has Toronto said about your next season considering that you are also ready to play with Rögle?
– It is still unclear. If it is not Toronto, it will be Rögle, but there will be no AHL this season anyway, concludes Tinus Luc Koblar.

In Leafs news, the coaching hire is nigh.

And a reminder that no one actually knows who all the final interviews were with, but no, for those who keep asking, Bruce Cassidy is not one of them.

Western Michigan’s Pat Ferschweiler among candidates to be next Maple Leafs coach
As the Toronto Maple Leafs get into the final phase of their head coaching search, Western Michigan’s Pat Ferschweiler is among the candidates.
Sportsnet.caElliotte Friedman

So Pierre LeBrun and Jonas Siegel both talked about a potential Morgan Rielly trade and discussed some details they have been told about the process. That doesn't actually conflict with this carefully worded statement from Chris Johnston that sounds to me like it came straight from Rielly's agent:

The foreseeable future might vary for people, but I think I can foresee a time just fine where a trade really does happen.

Why Maple Leafs traded Joseph Woll for Emil Andrae
John Chayka isn’t waiting around to start shaking things up. The new GM dealt Joseph Woll for Emil Andrae as the roster begins to take shape under a new vision for success. Luke Fox breaks down the deal.
Sportsnet.caLuke Fox

Yesterday, the PWHL Phase four first period of existing team signings ended with the Sceptres not adding any players. Late in the day was the PWHL awards ceremony where no Sceptres won playing-based awards or were even up for any. Emma Woods won an award:

The Intact Impact Award recognizes players who made a meaningful impact through their leadership, support of others, and overall positive influence on team culture. Nominations are evaluated based on excellence, leadership, and integrity. Intact Insurance donates $5,000 on behalf of each of the four winners to a Canadian charity of their choice.

The draft is today, and as we learned yesterday, the Sceptres draft eighth. That action starts at 5 pm. Tomorrow there is another signing period, so perhaps by then the Sceptres will look very different.

An actual trade that sorts the Colorado cap situation.

John Tortorella not returning to Golden Knights after playoff run
The team announced on Tuesday that the veteran head coach will not be returning after leading them to a Stanley Cup Final appearance this season.
Sportsnet.caSportsnet Staff
Ducks’ Carlson heading to free agency, eyeing return to East
Veteran defenceman John Carlson and his agent have informed Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek that he will not be re-signing with the club, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports.
TSNTSN.ca Staff

And that's enough for this heavy, heavy news day – rather unexpectedly. It's still over a week to the draft! Or a few hours, depending which draft you mean.

From The Branches