Matthew Wood, the six-foot-three power forward from Nanaimo, continues to grow his game and reputation as among the 27 players given A ratings Tuesday by Central Scouting as first-round prospects for the 2023 NHL draft.
But it’s not the ranking, it’s what you do with it, he said.
“It’s what you do after the draft that counts,” said Wood, by phone from Storrs, where he is a freshman standout in the NCAA Div. 1 with the University of Connecticut Huskies.
Wood displayed polished high-end skills, combined with a physical element, in winning the BC Hockey League scoring title last season with 45 goals and 85 points in 46 games as a 17-year-old with the Victoria Grizzlies and being named BCHL rookie of the year and runner-up as league MVP. His ample promise was actually evident earlier than that when he scored five goals with 13 points in 18 games as a 16-year-old with the Grizzlies in the pandemic-abbreviated 2021 BCHL bubble season.
Wood has belied fears in some hockey circles that he may have jumped too soon from the Grizzlies to the NCAA. The Islander has three goals and seven points in eight games as a freshman at UConn.
“It’s different than junior — bigger, stronger faster, more amplified and you have to make your passes quicker — but a lot of the older guys have gotten me used to university play,” said Wood.
“I have confidence in myself and believe in myself and am as prepared as I am going to be.”
That confidence includes believing in the route he has taken. The consensus no. 1 pick for the 2023 NHL draft is Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League, who is in Victoria on Nov. 26 to play the Royals. Wood was selected by the Pats in the WHL prospects draft but instead chose the BCHL and NCAA path.
“The campus, the buildings, are beautiful and it’s great to be a part of all this,” he said.
“We hope to get people talking hockey [UConn is more well known for basketball].”
Meanwhile, forward Ty Halaburda of Victoria has been given a B rating as a prospect for the second and third rounds of the 2023 NHL draft. The crafty-quick five-foot-11 forward has three goals and eight points in 10 games this season for the Vancouver Giants of the WHL.
Royals defenseman Kalem Parker, Grizzlies blue-liner Hoyt Stanley and Victoria-raised rearguard Dylan Compton out of Shawnigan Lake School, who plays for the BCHL Vernon Vipers, were given C ratings as prospects for the fourth through sixth rounds of the 2023 NHL draft.
Royals forward Brayden Schuurman — who with Parker, Wood and Bedard represented Canada in the 2022 IIHF U-18 world championship in Germany — has been placed on the limited-viewing portion of the list released Tuesday by NHL Central Scouting. Schuurman returned to the Royals lineup for the first time this season on Saturday in the 6-5 overtime loss to Halaburda and the Giants at Save-on-Foods Memorial Center after being injured in the NHL rookie camp of the Boston Bruins.
Bedard is among seven WHL players given A ratings. The others include Giants forward Samuel Honzek, who scored the overtime winner against the Royals on Saturday night at the Memorial Centre, and forward Zach Benson of the Winnipeg Ice, who scored against the Royals on Blanshard Street last week. Also drawing A ratings are forward Riley Heidt of the Prince George Cougars, forward Brayden Yager of the Moose Jaw Warriors and Carson Bjarnason and Noah Danielson, who also came through the Memorial Center this early season with the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Halaburda is among 12 WHL players given B ratings, Parker among 23 WHLers given C ratings and Schuurman the lone WHL limited-viewing designate. A total of 21 of the 22 WHL teams have landed players on the list, led by the Giants with five and the Wheat Kings, Warriors, Kamloops Blazers, Portland Winterhawks and Saskatoon Blades with three players each. Victoria is among seven WHL teams with two players on the list. There are eight WHL teams with one player listed.
Stanley, Compton and Wood are among 12 current or former BCHL players cited. Of the nine current BCHL players ranked, forward Bradley Nadeau of the Penticton Vees is the highest with a B rating.
“There is a lot of talent in this Class through A, B, C to guys who are unranked,” said Wood.
The 2023 NHL draft will be held June 28-29 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.