NHL Draft War Room: Kyle Wood

by

by Eldon MacDonald (edited by @ChrisRalphTHW)

Kyle Wood

THW’s NHL Draft War Room Rankings – Jun-14: #69

Kyle Wood
Kyle Wood (Photo: Terry Wilson/OHL Images)

 

  • Hashtag: #MrSecurityBlanket
  • Team: #3, North Bay, OHL
  • Position: Defense
  • Shoots: Right
  • Height: 6’5
  • Weight: 229 lb.
  • Born: Waterloo, ON, 4-May-96
  • Twitter: @KyleWood_3

[Your quintessential free draft resource:

2014 NHL Draft Guide: The Next Ones]

 

Stats

Other Rankings

  • 264 – NHL Combined – Final, Apr-14

Worth Retweeting

 Profiles

Quotable

  • Quote 1: TheHockeyNews.com – Ryan Kennedy – “Wood is an interesting player to keep on your radar. He mostly played Jr. A last season, then missed a good chunk of this campaign due to a knee injury. But he’s 6-foot-5, 229 pounds and brings a nice offensive dimension to his game along with good hockey sense. Wood’s seven points in 13 playoff games ties him for tops among North Bay D-men.”
  • Quote 2: Nugget.ca– North Bay Battalion Head Coach, Stan Butler – “There will be a grace period as he gets back into game shape, but once he gets going, he’ll be a big addition to our hockey team. By the time he’s 18, 19, he’ll be one of the top defencemen in our league. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, just as long as he stays healthy.”
  • Quote 3: Nugget.ca– Jordan Ercit – “Defenceman Kyle Wood — who along with Marcus McIvor, Dylan Blujus and Brenden Miller has been a regular contributor on the blue-line during penalty kills of late while Barclay Goodrow, Ben Thomson, Alex Henriksson, Nick Paul, Jamie Lewis and Brett McKenzie do the yeoman’s work up front — said it all comes down to work ethic, positioning, an active stick and sacrificing the body.”
  • Quote 4: LitterboxCats.com – Shane O’Donnell, “Wood is a big defenseman who has shown solid two-way potential.  He has great size that he uses to his advantage, and an above average hockey IQ.  The book on him is a little lacking because he missed the first half of the season due to injury, but Wood will most likely be a solid defender for North Bay in the future with a very solid chance to make it at the NHL level.”

From the THW War Room

Eldon MacDonald, THW:  A few words on Kyle Wood:

  • Mr. Security Blanket – Kyle possesses that size and physicality that gives his teammates, his goalie and his coaches that warm feeling of security like the security blanket we all like to have growing up.
  • Offense – Mainly a stay-at-homer so far but he mans the point on the second unit power play. He has a nice smoothness, mobility and agility to his game. But what makes me salivate is Kyle’s occasional stretch passes – it is the creativity and vision along with the ability to make them on the fly and even off balance that makes me think there is likely to be an explosion, an absolute explosion, in this guy’s offense next year.
  • Defense – Tough, hard to play against, good on the PK. Will be a dominant physical force next year as he builds on his playoff success from this year.
    • Listened to his Mom while growing up; always takes out the trash in front of the net
    • Paid close attention to his teacher in school; usually is the first to erase the boards around the net
  • Playoffs – Kyle didn’t start his season until December 28th due to a knee injury suffered in training camp. He gradually worked his way back and into the lineup as he continually improved upon his level of play. However, it was the playoffs where he shone as the up and coming defenseman of the future for the Battalion. Kyle topped all Battalion defensemen in the playoffs with a plus six and tied for the lead in defensemen points with ten in twenty-two games as he helped the Battalion all the way to the OHL finals.
  • Draft placement – OK, NHL Central Scouting has him as not likely to be drafted, hardly anyone else seems to have heard of him. However, I can’t see why a 6’5, 229 lb. behemoth with physicality, vision, strong passing skills and decent mobility won’t at least go third round if not a whole lot higher. I believe the Bachman Turnover Overdrive have the best take on Mr. Kyle Wood: “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”.

Video

  • Video 1: JimKorn20 – Fight with Matt Schmalz of the Sudbury Wolves