Christopher Hanewinckel / USA TODAY Sports

Gophers land Predators draft pick Matthew Wood in transfer portal

Originally posted on Athlon Sports Nation All Gophers | Last updated 4/7/24

The Gophers men’s hockey team is landing one of the transfer portal’s biggest prizes.

According to multiple reports, Connecticut forward Matthew Wood, the top-ranked player in the transfer portal, is transferring to Minnesota. Wood, a native of Lethbridge, Alberta, was the Huskies’ leading scorer each of the past two seasons and was the No. 15 overall pick by the Nashville Predators in the 2023 NHL draft.

Wood, 19, will be a junior this fall. He was 17 years old for half of his freshman season at Connecticut, a season in which he led the Huskies with 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 35 games. He played all 35 games again for UConn last season as a sophomore, tallying 28 points (16 goals, 12 assists).

According to College Hockey News’ Mike McMahon, Minnesota was always the front-runner to land Wood, but other high-profile schools such as North Dakota and Michigan were also in the mix.

Barstool Sports’ Mike Grinnell, who broke the news on Twitter on Sunday, said that those three schools were Wood’s finalists.

Wood's arrival is more good news for the Gophers this week. On Tuesday, star forward Jimmy Snuggerud announced his intentions to return for his junior season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports Nation All Gophers and was syndicated with permission.

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