Matthew Wood, a freshman right wing with the University of Connecticut, can recall with great appreciation the shooting competitions he had as a 14-year-old with Connor Bedard while living with the Bedard family three years ago.
“I was in grade nine at the time, playing for the Under-15 team; Connor was on the Under-18 team at West Van Academy Prep (in 2019-20),” Wood said. “I lived with the Bedard family for a year. We’d have shooting competitions in his backyard. He had a nice setup, a platform and a net with really small targets. So it was all about accuracy. But those were interesting, fun times for sure.”
Wood’s friendship with Bedard goes back even further as they also played spring hockey for the Vancouver Vipers for five seasons (2015-2019).
Bedard’s shot might be the envy of every 2023 NHL Draft-eligible player. The 17-year-old center with Regina of the Western Hockey League is projected to be the No. 1 pick.
Wood (6-foot-3, 193 pounds) was selected by Regina in the second round (No. 41) of the 2020 WHL bantam draft and could have opted to play with Bedard.
Instead he chose Connecticut, where the 17-year-old is not only the youngest player in NCAA Division I college hockey this season, but steadfast on carving his own path as an A-rated skater. NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary players to watch list.
“I know Regina is a great place to play, and Connor is ridiculously good at hockey, but I just felt like the extra time, extra workouts in college would benefit me,” Wood said. “I feel college hockey is a bit higher pace, and that’s what I wanted to continue to try and work on.
“I never toured any of the schools recruiting me since I kind of just wanted it to be purely based off of the people. I didn’t want to judge which school had the nicest facility, because at the end of the day I’ll be spending much of my time in a rink anyway, so it doesn’t really matter what it looks like.”
Wood has 11 points (five goals, six assists), 38 shots on goal and two power-play goals in 13 NCAA games. He had 85 points (45 goals, 40 assists) in 46 games with Victoria of the British Columbia Hockey League last season.
“There’s a lot of Tage Thompson (Buffalo Sabres) comparisons, especially since both went to UConn,” Central Scouting senior manager David Gregory said. “Both of them are not going to look like the Energizer Bunny, having that quick twitch, but they’ve got the longer stride. Matthew thinks it well. He’s got good edges. I think the power and strength will come. I think it’s going to be an impressive season for him.”
Wood wears No. 71 out of respect for his favorite NHL player, Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin.
“I grew up loving his game; he’s big (6-3, 195) and skilled and he competes really hard so that’s definitely one guy that’s my favorite player,” Wood said. “A guy like Mikko Rantanen (Colorado Avalanche) is also fun to watch. He’s super smart, skilled, big (6-4, 215) and can score from anywhere.”
Wood tries to keep track of Bedard’s progress with Regina when he can. Bedard leads the WHL with 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in 20 games.
“I definitely believe he’s the best player in this draft,” Wood said of Bedard. “I played spring hockey with him, lived with him for a year. He’s special, an amazing kid and a really great guy. Every game you watch, it seems he’s going to score. Every time there’s a big moment, he’s going to score. . There’s something different about him for sure.”
PROSPECTS ON THE RADAR (listed alphabetically):
Cameron Allen, D, Guelph (OHL): Allen (6-0, 194) is the only North American defenseman to receive an A rating on Central Scouting’s players to watch list. The 17-year-old has eight points (one goal, seven assists) and 56 shots on goal in 19 games this season; Last season he was named Ontario Hockey League rookie of the year after he had 37 points (13 goals, 24 assists) in 65 games. Allen also had seven points (one goal, six assists) while serving as captain for gold medal-winning Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August.
“I’ve always been really competitive in anything I do, even in gym class,” Allen told TSN.ca. “You can ask some of my classmates, they’ll get a good laugh out of that. Everything I do, I want to win. There’s definitely pros and cons to that, but when it comes to hockey it’s definitely helped me.”
Kasper Halttunen, RW, HIFK (FIN): The 17-year-old right-shot forward has moved between HIFK in Liiga, Finland’s top professional men’s league, and his team in Finland’s junior league. An A-rated skater on Central Scouting’s PTW list, Halttunen has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in six games in the junior league, where he is seeing significantly more ice time. He has one assist in eight games in Liiga.
“Halttunen is a big kid (6-3, 207), likes to finish the hits and battles hard along the boards,” said Janne Vuorinen of Central Scouting. “His best asset is his shot and scoring ability; he likes to shoot a lot and is useful on the power play. He had big expectations for this season, but some injuries held him back a little bit after the Hlinka Gretzky [Cup]”
Gabriel Perreault, RW, USA U-18 (NTDP): Perreault (5-11, 165), committed to play at Boston College next season, is the son of former NHL center Yanic Perreault and the younger brother of Anaheim Ducks forward prospect Jacob Perreault, a first-round pick (No. 27) in the 2020 NHL Draft. Gabriel is second on USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 team with 36 points (15 goals, 21 assists) in 19 games. Perreault is one of four NTDP skaters to receive an A rating on Central Scouting’s PTW list.
“He’s just a dynamic offensive player,” said director of NHL Central Scouting Dan Marr. “He’s got a lot of deceptive speed and moves to his game and has a really good finishing shot.”
Photos: UConn Athletic Communications
—
Listen: New episode of NHL Draft Class
.