RW Matthew Wood – Univ. of Minnesota, NCAA (2023, 15th, NSH)

[GermanSpitfire]

I think he even has a little Leon Draistaitl in his game. He’s firmly a top-10 kid for me.

 

[Hale The Villain]

His resume is impeccable, and when I watch him play I get the feeling that he can be something special. Like, if he becomes less awkward with age, and gets faster and more coordinated, imagine what he could be. As prospect nerds we all dream of ranking a guy like him top 5 and watching him become a PPG player.

Have to buy the ticket to take the ride.

He does remind me a bit of Jason Robertson, who I was huge on in his draft year.

Have a weakness for big guys with skill and smarts that aren't great skaters.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

He does remind me a bit of Jason Robertson, who I was huge on in his draft year.

Have a weakness for big guys with skill and smarts that aren't great skaters.

Some turn into Logan Browns - some into Jason Robertsons…

 

[Bubbles]

I think he even has a little Leon Draistaitl in his game. He’s firmly a top-10 kid for me.

He's still outside the top 10 for me. He hasn't really changed from when I watching him in the BCHL. He's a slower version of Laine. Which is not a bad thing.

Once he's in the offensive zone, he's a wizard. In a shallower draft, yes top 10 but it's so deep this year.

I think teams that are closely watching the u18 will take him earlier and he will move up simply from his tournament play.

 

[Hale The Villain]

I think he even has a little Leon Draistaitl in his game. He’s firmly a top-10 kid for me.

It's the big upper body.

Draisaitl is only 6'2 but is unmovable because he's got a massive upper body. Gives him such an advantage in battles at the NHL level.

Wood looks top-heavy right now. Could be wrong but it looks like he needs to fill out more and improve his lower body strength.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Dvorsky makes sense, but I didn't think he was an "off the board" player in my mind.

He is for Wilde.

Some turn into Logan Browns - some into Jason Robertsons…

Logan Brown never had the smarts which is why he sucked.. Joe Colborne never had any heart, motor or desire, which is why he sucked.. for example.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

He is for Wilde.



Logan Brown never had the smarts which is why he sucked.. Joe Colborne never had any heart, motor or desire, which is why he sucked.. for example.

Yes he did, he has great hockey IQ - he was always putting himself in great positions in the offensive zone, and was excellent at stealing pucks from behind. He is a very smart hockey player.

Why did he disappoint? Lack of effort, and as a big kid, he his game was too reliant on the perimeter of the ice. If he were to have learned to use his size better, particularly in front of the net - he would be a full time NHLer right now. Should also note, him being made of glass didn’t help.

As an Ottawa Senator fan, I know for a fact Brown being a disappointment wasn’t at all from lack of IQ.

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

His skating is really not as bad as people make it out to be.

 

[BerthMania]

So far it's 4-1 for Canada vs Czechia and Wood has 3 of the 4 goals.

 

[barriers]

 

[Dominance]

Wood will go higher than most expected, I think, and leave some team terrified that his skating woes will leave them with a busted pick in a stacked draft. The boom potential is huge, though.

 

[montreal]

His skating is really not as bad as people make it out to be.

his skating and speed are horrible.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

his skating and speed are horrible.

He has decent speed once he gets going but overall is very sluggish.

 

[Michoulicious]

I agree he might go higher than predicted... His bump in the NHL Central Scouting rankings is quite tellling.

Not sure I agree with such bump. Rather pick one of the skilled Americans (Smith, Leonard, Perreault, Moore) than him.

 

[montreal]

I agree he might go higher than predicted... His bump in the NHL Central Scouting rankings is quite tellling.

Not sure I agree with such bump. Rather pick one of the skilled Americans (Smith, Leonard, Perreault, Moore) than him.

if his skating and speed were NHL level I would expect him to be in talks for the 2nd OA pick, a guy his size that can shoot the puck like that is going to be very attractive but I would want a professional skating coach to look it over and see what they think, if they can fix his issues or not. I could see him easily going top 15.

 

[MichaelFarrell]

I still think this way in general but regarding Wood his skating looks much better to me in recent video. I think he might justifiably go pretty high.

It has looked better in this tournament. If he can improve his lateral movement and acceleration, he could be a legit player.

 

[Mrb1p]

His speed has never been in question, he has power in his stride, its his edges that arent good. Hes not unlike Dr. DRAI as a skater.

 

[Juxtaposer]

His speed has never been in question, he has power in his stride, its his edges that arent good. Hes not unlike Dr. DRAI as a skater.

This is a great comparison actually. I remember watching Draisaitl skate in juniors in his draft+1 year and being convinced he was going to flat-out bust because his skating was so bad. He’s obviously improved significantly, but that goes to show you that a guy like Wood whose issues are almost entirely based on his skating is worth a high pick if you feel like he’ll put in the work and improve.

 

[Wandering Cynic]

I agree he might go higher than predicted... His bump in the NHL Central Scouting rankings is quite tellling.

Not sure I agree with such bump. Rather pick one of the skilled Americans (Smith, Leonard, Perreault, Moore) than him.

There aren't a lot of big forwards in this draft. I can see Philadelphia picking him at 7.

 

[WeThreeKings]

There aren't a lot of big forwards in this draft. I can see Philadelphia picking him at 7.

That would be funny.. Philadelphia creating a team full of big bodied snipers.

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

4 points in the bronze medal game for Wood. And this wasn't your ''meh, let's just get it over with'' bronze medal game you sometimes see. That was an intense battle throughout.

I continue to believe his skating ''issues'' are overblown.

 

[jiboy]

U18 sure has been good for his stock

 

[GermanSpitfire]

4 points in the bronze medal game for Wood. And this wasn't your ''meh, let's just it over with'' bronze medal game you sometimes see. That was an intense battle throughout.

I continue to believe his skating ''issues'' are overblown.

Disagree - but I believe just like Jason Robertson and Mark Stone before him, he doesn’t need good skating in order to produce and help his teams. He is so Damn smart that it doesn’t matter.

 

[NotProkofievian]

What a statement game from him. He was on the puck constantly, 4 points in 4 goals, including the game tying goal. Ends the tournament with 13 points, which is one of the better Team Canada performances ever.

He's in my top 8.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

1 of 17 top ten caliber players in this draft

Madness.