Former North Bay Battalion defenceman Kyle Wood finished off an impressive first month in the American Hockey League with the Tucson Roadrunners as he was named one of the league award winners for October.
Wood, the CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month, found the scoresheet in all five games for Tucson in October, totaling two goals and six assists for eight points while helping the Roadrunners to first place in the Pacific Division.
Battalion fans remember Wood's booming slap shot. For Wood, the key has been simple, getting that big shot to the net.
“It’s definitely a huge part of being a defenseman, when you get it back there [at the point], you just try and look for an open lane, get your head up, try and look for a stick, or just even try and throw it into the goalie’s pads,” Wood said on Tusconroadrunners.com.
“But you know, you’ve got to get into position first to get that shot, have a lane, the big thing is to always have your head up, make sure you know what’s around you, and if you have time, you can take a slap shot. With the one-timers, you can’t think too much, you’ve just got to sometimes bury your head and just fire it at the net, and hopefully good things happen.”
Wood began his first pro season with a goal and two assists in Tucson’s opening-night loss at San Diego on Oct. 14, then assisted on the deciding goal as the Roadrunners earned their first-ever victory with a 2-1 overtime win at Stockton on Oct. 21. Wood earned another assist on Oct. 22 at Bakersfield and again on Oct. 28 vs. Stockton before closing out the month with a goal and an assist in Tucson’s come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Heat on Oct. 30.
Wood, a 20-year-old native of Waterloo, Ont., spent the last three-plus seasons in Brampton and North Bay where he racked up 27 goals and 66 assists for 93 points in 165 games.
A third-round choice by Colorado in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Wood was acquired by the Arizona Coyotes - the Roadrunners parent club - on Feb. 29, 2016, and made his pro debut with Springfield (AHL) last spring, appearing in two games.
