Victoria Grizzlies star rookie forward Matthew Wood’s quest for the B.C. Hockey League scoring title has taken a detour with a five-game suspension due to a hit-to-the-head match penalty incurred Saturday in Salmon Arm against the Silverbacks.
“It happened so fast … he thought he was getting into a fight,” said Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon.
Wood is being talked about as a potential first-round selection in the 2023 NHL draft. The Nanaimo product, committed to UConn of the NCAA, leads the BCHL in goals with 11 and is second in points with 17 despite being only 16 years old.
Wood sat out the first game of his suspension Sunday afternoon in Merritt as the Grizzlies beat the winless Centennials (0-8) by a 5-2 count. Victoria teammate Connor Eddy had a goal and assist to move one point ahead of Wood atop the points parade with 18. Kalen Szeto also had a goal and assist for the Grizzlies while Justin Gibson, Clark Hiebert and Tyler Waram had a goal each.
Victoria was without its best forward in Wood and top defenceman in Isack Bandu, the latter who sat out the second game of a five-game suspension also because of a hit to the head match penalty last week. Penalties have become an issue for the Grizzlies. They are having a very good season at 7-3 but are the most penalized team in the BCHL with 142 penalty minutes. Twelve of the 18 teams are not yet even in triple digits in penalty minutes.
“It’s something we need to clean up,” Didmon said.
“We’ve taken a ton of penalties and that’s something we have to figure out. We had to kill 12 penalties Sunday in Merritt and the guys are exhausted [after holding the Centennials to 0-12].”
The Grizzlies host Cowichan Valley (2-7) on Friday night and Surrey Eagles (3-5) on Saturday evening at the Q Centre.
ICE CHIPS: Three players from the Island Division — defenceman Eli Barnet of the Grizzlies and Alberni Valley Bulldogs forward Ethan Bono and Bulldogs defenceman Emanuelson Charbonneau — are among seven BCHL players ranked by Central Scouting for the 2022 NHL draft.
The others are forward Michael Abgrall of Surrey, Penticton Vees blueliners Joshua Niedermayer and Ryan Hopkins and defenceman Tyson Jugnauth of the West Kelowna Warriors. All seven are projected for the fourth through sixth rounds.
If one of those surnames sounds familiar, it should. Joshua Niedermayer is the son of B.C. and Canada sports and hockey halls of fame inductee and four-time Stanley Cup champion Scott Niedermayer.
