Only two goalies have played high school hockey in New Jersey and later reached the NHL.
They’re now teammates on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On Oct. 6, the team claimed Cayden Primeau off of waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes not long after goaltender Joseph Woll took a leave of absence from the team.
He joined Anthony Stolarz to form the Maple Leafs’ goaltending tandem entering the 2025-26 season.
Though Primeau, 26, was born in Michigan, he grew up in South Jersey, as his father, Keith, played for the Philadelphia Flyers from 1999-2006. He suited up for Bishop Eustace during the 2014-15 season and had a .915 save percentage in 11 games.
Stolarz, meanwhile, was born in Edison and played for both Jackson Memorial and St. John Vianney High Schools before beginning his professional career. The 31-year-old won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in 2024 before signing with the Maple Leafs that offseason.
“We were talking about two goalies from Jersey,” Primeau said of Stolarz after his first practice with the team on Oct. 7 on the Maple Leafs’ YouTube page. “He’s been great as well, super welcoming like the rest of them. I’m just excited.”
Primeau earned a win in his only game with the Maple Leafs so far against Nashville on Oct. 14.
Stolarz has handled a majority of the starts with a 2-2-1 record to go with a 2.79 goals against average and .897 save percentage.
“It’s been good just kind of catching up a little bit,” Stolarz said after practice on Friday on the team’s YouTube page. “Obviously (we’re) two Jersey guys so it was kind of easy to hit it off right away. We were able to just talk about that a little bit and goalie stuff. He’s a great guy. Just continuing to get to know him but so far everything has been great.”
Both players admitted not knowing each other well thanks to growing up in different parts of the state, but they poked fun at the North Jersey vs. South Jersey rivalry.
“He’s North Jersey,” Primeau said in the video. “That’s like a different state. North and south don’t get along very well.”
“I’d like to think I’m kind of Central Jersey,” Stolarz added on Friday. “Some people say that doesn’t exist but I’m kind of in the middle.”
As for the pork roll vs. Taylor Ham debate, Stolarz hopes his new teammate is on his side.
“I hope it’s pork roll,” he joked in the video. “I call it pork roll so I’m hoping that but he’s from South Jersey so it might be Taylor Ham.”
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