Nashville Predators 2023 first round pick Matthew Wood is about to experience another dream come true - this time with Team Canada’s U-20 squad at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Calling from Malmo, Sweden after his first pre-tournament game on Tuesday - a decisive 8-0 victory over Team Denmark - Wood took a moment to reflect on the accomplishment.
“It was really exciting,” Wood said. “Obviously, it's a super exciting tournament that everyone watches growing up, especially in Canada. I’m very fortunate to be a part of it, and I'm definitely looking forward to it.”
Though fellow 2023 first-rounder Tanner Molendyk was unfortunately scratched from Canada’s roster after suffering an upper-body injury in Canada’s penultimate pre-tournament exhibition on Friday, both prospects making the team out of selection camp was plenty for Nashville’s front office.
“We’re just super proud of them,” Predators Assistant General Manager & Director of Player Development Scott Nichol said. “To be 18 year olds playing with Team Canada is a huge accomplishment, being a young player and being put on that stage. And for both of those guys, from amateurs to management to our organization, we're very, very proud of them.”
Before they left for Canada’s national team selection camp, Wood and Molendyk were each icing banner seasons with their respective clubs.
Wood, Nashville’s 15th overall pick this summer, led his University of Connecticut Huskies club in points (12) and goals (7) after 17 games.
The six-foot-five, 202-pound forward has plenty of size to use to his advantage, but what made Wood a desirable draft target - and likely a no-brainer for Canada’s roster - was his superb shot.
“He's an elite scorer, and he's got a great release,” Nichol said. “He can score anywhere on the ice and he's a big body, so if they want to put him into a checking role or an offensive role, he has some size to protect pucks. And that's one thing that he needs to keep continually improve on, is using his size to win those puck battles.”
The 18-year-old forward additionally netted a pair of goals in Canada’s first selection camp exhibition game before being named to the final roster on Wednesday.
This will be Wood’s third time skating with Team Canada on the world stage, his first with Canada’s U-20 team. The Nanaimo, British Columbia, native, skated twice before with Canada’s U-18 national team, most recently posting 13 points (7g-6a) in seven games, en route to a bronze medal at the 2023 U-18 World Championship.
Though Molendyk won’t play in this year’s tournament, the blueliner was originally selected to Canada’s final roster for plenty of reasons.
Before selection camp, Molendyk led all Saskatoon Blades (WHL) blueliners in points, goals and assists (4g-24a-28pts). At camp, Molendyk battled back from a lower body injury and skated with Team Canada in their final pre-tournament outing.
“It was good for him to fight through his injury to at least get an exhibition game,” Nichol said. “I think for the management group for Team Canada, it’s not just the exhibition games or the intersquad games that they base their decisions on. They've watched Tanner play for the last couple of years. And for his age group, he's probably the top defenseman who can skate and move the puck and transition… Like last year, he shut down Connor Bedard in the playoffs. He has a lot of really good intangibles, especially for an 18-year-old kid.”
Born Feb. 3, 2005, Molendyk was the youngest of the seven defenseman on Canada’s final World Juniors roster. Wood, three days younger than his fellow Preds prospect, will now enter the tournament as the team’s second-youngest skater.
“It's a big deal for both these kids, because it is pretty much a 19-year-old’s tournament,” Nichol said. “For these guys to be that young and be able to make the team, and especially having both of them a part of our organization, the future is very bright.”
Wood’s World Juniors schedule begins Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. CT against Team Finland and fellow Predators prospect Kasper Kulonummi. Predators fans can catch both Wood and Kulonummi in tournament action on NHL Network.
