Prospect Info: Matthew Wood - RW | 15th Overall | 2023 NHL Draft

[Porter Stoutheart]

To put it in perspective, Wood is producing around the same as Gunnarwolfe Fontaine is. Granted, one is in his 5th NCAA year, and the other is "only" in his 3rd year. But still...

 

[Flgatorguy87]

If you look at his NCAA game though, thats not the case...he is a playmaker not a sniper (although he has a great shot)

Are you watching or seeing his assists?

 

[herzausstein]

To put it in perspective, Wood is producing around the same as Gunnarwolfe Fontaine is. Granted, one is in his 5th NCAA year, and the other is "only" in his 3rd year. But still...

Gunnarwolfe is about 4.5 years older than Wood. This may be Wood's 3rd NCAA season but you should remember that he went to college early and is just going to be turning 20 this spring. Fink is just slightly older than Wood and from the same draft and is just in year 2.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Gunnarwolfe is about 4.5 years older than Wood. This may be Wood's 3rd NCAA season but you should remember that he went to college early and is just going to be turning 20 this spring. Fink is just slightly older than Wood and from the same draft and is just in year 2.

I know all that, just good NHL players don't usually last 3 years in the NCAA to begin with, let alone just being around 1ppg at the end of the ride. He's not going to be a player that plays a bottom-6 role. His bread and butter is only ever going to be the points he puts on the board. He got a very young start in the NCAA... but so far hasn't seemed to get any better, which is worrisome, independent of age right?

Connor Kurth on his team has the same points, is 21 in his 3rd year, and was a #192 pick. Brody Lamb, 21, 3rd year, #104. These are the guys Wood is hanging with in terms of production and age (<2yrs delta anyway), just on his own team. I think it's fair to have expected a #15 pick to be doing something more, right?

 

[herzausstein]

I know all that, just good NHL players don't usually last 3 years in the NCAA to begin with, let alone just being around 1ppg at the end of the ride. He's not going to be a player that plays a bottom-6 role. His bread and butter is only ever going to be the points he puts on the board. He got a very young start in the NCAA... but so far hasn't seemed to get any better, which is worrisome, independent of age right?

Connor Kurth on his team has the same points, is 21 in his 3rd year, and was a #192 pick. Brody Lamb, 21, 3rd year, #104. These are the guys Wood is hanging with in terms of production and age (<2yrs delta anyway), just on his own team. I think it's fair to have expected a #15 pick to be doing something more, right?

Wood was always going to be a project. He is a bigger player and as i recall hit a growth spurt his final year before being drafted.

14th overall in Woods draft was Yager and he is only 42nd in the WHL for points. Honzek was drafted 16th too and does decent enough in the AHL but nothing outstanding. Mid 1sts are a crapshoot. Wood is a big boy with ok skating. He may take all college to really step it up.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Wood was always going to be a project. He is a bigger player and as i recall hit a growth spurt his final year before being drafted.

14th overall in Woods draft was Yager and he is only 42nd in the WHL for points. Honzek was drafted 16th too and does decent enough in the AHL but nothing outstanding. Mid 1sts are a crapshoot. Wood is a big boy with ok skating. He may take all college to really step it up.

I guess these kinds of threads can read like they are some kind of "witch hunt" or whatever, I am fully conceding that Wood is a "project" and still young despite his 3 years in college. Just... you'd rather see a guy shooting out the lights in his situation than just "hanging in there". Which is by no means the end of the story for him. It just would have been nicer if he was actually shooting out those lights however, which is what I was originally expecting from draft day. We all very much WANT Wood to succeed.

 

[Scoresberg]

I know all that, just good NHL players don't usually last 3 years in the NCAA to begin with, let alone just being around 1ppg at the end of the ride. He's not going to be a player that plays a bottom-6 role. His bread and butter is only ever going to be the points he puts on the board. He got a very young start in the NCAA... but so far hasn't seemed to get any better, which is worrisome, independent of age right?

Connor Kurth on his team has the same points, is 21 in his 3rd year, and was a #192 pick. Brody Lamb, 21, 3rd year, #104. These are the guys Wood is hanging with in terms of production and age (<2yrs delta anyway), just on his own team. I think it's fair to have expected a #15 pick to be doing something more, right?

Blues fans seem to be pretty high on Jimmy Snuggerud, who plays on the same team with Wood. He’s a 2022 pick producing pretty much at a same rate as Wood.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Blues fans seem to be pretty high on Jimmy Snuggerud, who plays on the same team with Wood. He’s a 2022 pick producing pretty much at a same rate as Wood.

One thing you can definitely argue on Minnesota this year is they have so much talent - literally almost the whole team is NHL drafted - that they do spread out ice time and opportunity more than most teams do. So on the one side, Wood is surrounded by a lot more talent. On the flip side... they aren't leaning on him and playing him 25 minutes a night.

 

[herzausstein]

I guess these kinds of threads can read like they are some kind of "witch hunt" or whatever, I am fully conceding that Wood is a "project" and still young despite his 3 years in college. Just... you'd rather see a guy shooting out the lights in his situation than just "hanging in there". Which is by no means the end of the story for him. It just would have been nicer if he was actually shooting out those lights however, which is what I was originally expecting from draft day. We all very much WANT Wood to succeed.

I just dont get my expectations too high. There are plenty of players that have succeeded in NCAA but fail to get to the NHL. If he gets to the AHL and flounders, then i think there will be a serious issue.

Right now we have 3 players in the top 30 points/game in NCAA D1. Fink, Wood, and the mighty O'Hara of those i still suspect Wood would have the higher chance of NHL success but Fink is closing in on him. Fink could be like several other smaller players that fail to ever really break into the NHL even though he can put up numbers in other leagues. Wood has a more typical NHL frame. He may end up needing to reinvent his game like Watson did though if he doesnt produce. O'Hara is a strange wildcard who has already bested previous years production in half the games.

 

[Viqsi]

To sum up:

• Wood is a legit prospect; always has been.
• He is not a star prospect; never has been.
• We need star prospects because we've never had one at forward.
• We are therefore freaking out because Wood is not showing the signs of a star prospect.

My recommended solution is to appreciate Wood for what he has been and continues to be and not freak out over Creeping Expectationism.