Matthew Wood, a student at UConn, was drafted into the NHL Wednesday night and he is the highest draft pick in the history of the UConn men’s hockey program, according to the university.
Wood, an 18-year-old rising sophomore from Nanaimo, British Columbia, was drafted by the Nashville Predators with the 15th overall pick Wednesday night.
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WATCH HEREUConn said he is only the second Husky to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft, joining former UConn and NHL star Tage Thompson, and the 23rd UConn player drafted.
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SIGN UP The Nashville Predators released a statement after selecting Wood with the 15th overall pick and defenseman Tanner Molendyk with the 24th overall pick.
"As I've said before, when you're coaching in the National Hockey League, you're looking at guys who have impact," incoming Predators General Manager Barry Trotz said in a statement. "Both of these players have outstanding quality. Where they were on our list is exactly where we thought we might have gotten them."
"He's a big body who is growing into his frame," Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile said of Wood in a statement the team released after selecting him. "He's a goal scorer and he's got size, and that's something we really wanted. We were fortunate to get a player like Matthew at 15th overall who we rated very high heading into the draft."
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Wood is the fifth NHL prospect on the UConn roster, joining Chase Bradley (Detroit/ 7th RD/2020), Nick Capone (Tampa Bay/ 6th RD/2020), Samu Salminen (New Jersey/ 3rd RD/2021) and Arsenii Sergeev (Calgary/ 7th RD/2021), according to UConn.
Wood represented Team Canada at the U-18 World's, where he helped lead Canada to a bronze medal.
UConn said Wood joins Jordan Hawkins (New Orleans Pelicans/NBA) and Lou Lopez Sénéchal (Dallas Wings/WNBA) as UConn athletes drafted in the first round of their respective 2023 drafts.
The school said UConn and Michigan become the only two schools in the NCAA to feature a Top 15 pick in the NHL, NBA and WNBA.
