Matthew Wood lands fourth among North American skaters in final NHL Central Scouting Rankings

In the final NHL Central Scouting Rankings, UConn freshman Matthew Wood came in at No. 4 among North American skaters while four of the team’s commitments landed on the list as well.

Wood moved up four spots from the previous release in January but that doesn’t mean he’ll go fourth in the draft. The top international skaters are well-regarded this year and could make up half the picks in the top 10.

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman ranked Wood 19th on his most recent prospect lists in the “middle of the lineup player” tier, while The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler had him at No. 12. The biggest concern with Wood is his skating ability, which Pronman described as “sluggish” while Wheeler said “there’s work to do to get a little quicker from a standstill.”

Even still, Wood’s shot and playmaking ability — not to mention the fact that he led UConn with 34 points in 35 games on 11 goals and 23 assists as the youngest player in college hockey — will likely make him a first round pick.

Beyond Wood, four UConn commits were included in the rankings: Forwards Kaden Shahan (‘05), Ethan Gardula (‘05) and Joe Odyniec (‘04) as well as defenseman Kevin Fitzgerald (‘04). Shahan moved up to 149 from 168, Gardula leapt to 170 from 208, Odyniec debuted at 185 while Fitzgerald dropped from 145 to 204.

The Huskies have had at least one player or prospect picked in each of the last 10 NHL Drafts for a total of 24. Tage Thompson is UConn’s only first round pick and the highest pick in program history after going 26th overall to the St. Louis Blues in 2016. Four Huskies have gone in the second round — ironically all Russian-born players —two in the third round, four apiece in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds followed by five in the seventh round.

The 2023 NHL Draft is set for June 28-29 from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.