Minnesota hockey officially lands big-time transfer Matthew Wood

Matthew Wood, a little over a month after it was reported that he was going to transfer to the Golden Gophers, has officially signed on to play hockey at the University of Minnesota. 

Wood was the top-ranked player in the transfer portal after starring at Connecticut in 2023-24. The native of Lethbridge, Alberta, was the No. 15 overall pick by the Nashville Predators in the 2023 NHL draft. 

The 19-year-old forward will be a junior when he dons the maroon and gold of the Gophers, and he could very well be on the same line as Gophers star and fellow first-round draft pick – the 23rd overall pick by the St. Louis Blues in 2022 – Jimmy Snuggerud. 

Wood led UConn with 34 points (11 goales, 23 assists) in 35 games. As a sophomore in 2022-23 he had 28 points (16 goals, 12 assists). 

Wood will eventually become the sixth Gopher to go on and play for the Predators in the NHL, joining Tommy Novak, Erik Haula, Rem Pitlick and Wyatt Smith.