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Wood Lands NHL Contract with Predators
3/29/2025 2:00:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Junior posted 39 points in lone year at 'U'
MINNEAPOLIS - After playing one season with the University of Minnesota men's hockey team, Matthew Wood inked his first professional contract Saturday, signing a three-year, entry-level deal with the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League.
Wood was a first-round selection, No. 15 overall, of the Predators in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and played his first two NCAA seasons at UConn before joining the Golden Gophers for the 2024-25 campaign. The junior finished his NCAA career with 44 goals and 57 assists for 101 points in 109 games and landed on the All-Big Ten Honorable Mention Team while wearing the Maroon and Gold.
The Nanaimo, B.C., product tied for second on the team with a career-high 39 points behind 17 goals and 22 assists and owned a plus-19 rating this season. He had a point in all four postseason games for the Gophers to end his tenure on a five-game point streak, his third streak of five games. Wood burst onto the scene opening night behind a three-assist performance versus Air Force and closed the campaign with 12 points in his last 11 appearances, including a four-game goal streak from Mar. 1-9. He recorded 12 outings with multiple points for the year, while scoring all three of his power-play tallies in the final nine outings.
Wood was a first-round selection, No. 15 overall, of the Predators in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and played his first two NCAA seasons at UConn before joining the Golden Gophers for the 2024-25 campaign. The junior finished his NCAA career with 44 goals and 57 assists for 101 points in 109 games and landed on the All-Big Ten Honorable Mention Team while wearing the Maroon and Gold.
The Nanaimo, B.C., product tied for second on the team with a career-high 39 points behind 17 goals and 22 assists and owned a plus-19 rating this season. He had a point in all four postseason games for the Gophers to end his tenure on a five-game point streak, his third streak of five games. Wood burst onto the scene opening night behind a three-assist performance versus Air Force and closed the campaign with 12 points in his last 11 appearances, including a four-game goal streak from Mar. 1-9. He recorded 12 outings with multiple points for the year, while scoring all three of his power-play tallies in the final nine outings.
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