OHL North Bay Battalion

Patience Worthwhile for Draftee Wood

July 2, 2014 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
North Bay Battalion News Release


NORTH BAY, Ont. - Kyle Wood played a waiting game at the National Hockey League Draft.

Wood, a defenceman with the North Bay Battalion, missed the first half of the Ontario Hockey League season with a knee injury and had no idea when or where he' d go in the two-day NHL process.

After the first round of the seven-round event wrapped up Friday night, Wood, 18, settled into a seat at the Wells Fargo Center, home of the Philadelphia Flyers, Saturday and waited.

"I was a little nervous in the morning," Wood said via telephone Tuesday. " I had no idea where I' d end up. But when I got there and settled in, it kind of set in what was going on, and I was ready for whatever might happen. After the second round went by and the picks in the third started, I began to get a little nervous but I tried to stay patient. My agent, Darcy Tucker, helped me too and kept telling me everything would be fine."

Things proved exactly that, as Wood was selected in the third round, 84th overall, by the Colorado Avalanche.

"I had eight or nine interviews with teams before the draft where we'd talk on the phone or go to lunch," noted Wood. "I had a nice meeting with Colorado two weeks before the draft and I knew they were kind of interested."

Wood heard that the Avalanche valued what the six-foot-five, 229-pound rearguard brought at both ends of the ice.

"They said they liked my defensive side and that I was a big guy who could play at both ends. They think that will help me at the next level."

Wood also had a chance to meet Joe Sakic, Colorado' s executive vice-president of hockey operations, and head coach Patrick Roy. Both Sakic and Roy won multiple Stanley Cups and are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"I met them at the table and then again later on," said Wood, who' s to head to Denver next Monday for Colorado's rookie camp. "They' re great guys who played the game and they know their stuff. I' m pretty excited to get going and learn what they' re expecting from me."

Six picks after Wood was taken, the Los Angeles Kings chose Battalion centre Mike Amadio.

"I was heading for the interview room when I heard his name called and saw he' d been drafted by the Kings," said Wood. "I was really happy for him. I saw him after and told him I was proud of him."

Wood's first full OHL season got off to a bad start when he injured a knee in training camp, putting him on the shelf until Dec. 28. He eventually played 33 games, scoring two goals and earning 10 assists for 12 points. He also saw action in 22 playoff games, with two goals and eight assists for 10 points.

Wood credited Battalion coach Stan Butler and James Borrelli, head athletic therapist, with keeping him focused during rehabilitation so he' d be ready to show NHL scouts what he could do upon return.

"Stan told me when I came back I had to be 100 percent and ready to play to my full potential. I needed to show the scouts I hadn't missed a step with the injury, and that's what I tried to do in the second half and the playoffs.

"James really helped me stay patient and to take it day by day. He had me in the weight room and doing my therapy every day, and that put me in the mindset to be 100 percent when I got back."

A resident of Waterloo, Ont., Wood was chosen by the Brampton Battalion in the third round of the 2012 OHL Priority Selection. He played 16 games with the Troops as a 16-year-old and knows there' s much work ahead.

"The work doesn't stop now just because I' ve been drafted. You really have to pick it up and show the team that drafted you that you can play at the next level. You need to take the next step in the OHL and become one of the top defencemen in the league."

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