ABRAM-VILLAGE, P.E.I. — It’s not every day a franchise player comes along.
Chandler Wood fits that criteria with the Arsenault’s Fish Mart Western Red Wings.
Respect, big-game player and class are adjectives used to describe the 19-year-old right-winger, who is lauded for playing the game the right way.
“Chandler, first and foremost, is a real quality human being,” said Red Wings head coach Nathan DesRoches. “There is not a bad thing to say about him.”
Second season
“The way everything fell it worked out pretty well. I get to play close to home now and I get to play with all my buddies. We have a really good time and we have a really good team. It's really fun because you grew up playing with a lot of them and to come back and play with them again in junior is pretty special. Junior is a really good time in your life and it’s really enjoyable.”
- Western Red Wings right-winger Chandler Wood
The son of Dale and Bonnie Wood of Coleman joined the Red Wings last season after starting the year with the Summerside Western Capitals of the Maritime Junior Hockey League. Prior to that, he played two seasons with the Kensington Wild major midget program.
“The way everything fell it worked out pretty well,” said Wood, who works as a fisherman. “I get to play close to home now and I get to play with all my buddies.
“We have a really good time and we have a really good team. It's really fun because you grew up playing with a lot of them and to come back and play with them again in junior is pretty special. Junior is a really good time in your life and it’s really enjoyable.”
Wood, who was an assistant captain in his final season with the Wild, is serving as team captain for the first time in his career this season.
“I was pretty pleased to get the honour,” said Wood. “It is a big thing because although you are coming off a good year, you don’t know if you are looked at that way.”
He has not disappointed.
“To be honest with you, as head coach, I have really been impressed with his leadership,” said DesRoches. “That is not only off the ice, but I have found he has done a really good job of stepping up on the ice when we need a big goal or need a big play, blocking a shot or making a good defensive play.”
Although some people may be surprised the Red Wings would opt to name a second-year player with three years of eligibility remaining team captain, it’s not the first time they have done this.
“The big thing for us is we had the experience with Chasse (Gallant, who graduated last year after serving three years as team captain),” said DesRoches. “Chasse laid a bench-mark for us and we have a lot of guys who can wear a letter, but we were very comfortable with Chandler.
“He has a lot of respect in the room and leadership-wise we felt very comfortable with him and he has exceeded my expectations as a head coach in how he is handling that role.”
Points
Wood is also delivering on the ice. He and linemate Isaac Callaghan are tied atop the league scoring race with 30 points each heading into the Red Wings’ Boxing Day game versus arch-rival Kensington Vipers in Abram-Village at 7 p.m. An illustration of Wood’s leadership is evident when he’s asked to talk about the scoring race.
“Isaac and I talked about it (recently) and we said that while we might be doing OK in the points (race), at the end of the day we want to win the Island and we want to win another Don Johnson (Memorial Cup),” stressed Wood. “The points are nice, but it’s not the big picture.”
Wood was quick to point out the contributions both Isaac Knox and Silas Handrahan have made playing on the line.
“I can’t say enough about how well Chandler has improved his game,” said DesRoches. “I have been around the game for a long time and I’m not sure I have seen a player improve his skating and overall game like Chandler Wood has in the last three years.”
Wood has also earned a reputation for being a big-game player. He scored the 2018 provincial championship-clinching goal in overtime against Charlottetown in Game 5 with the Wild. In April 2019, he scored the overtime winner in the same net against Kensington to give Western its first-ever Don Johnson Memorial Cup Atlantic junior B hockey championship.
“I thought I couldn’t beat it the first time, but the second time it was a pretty big goal, too,” said Wood. “I got pretty lucky both times, but I’ll take them.”
Wood has also made an impression on the opposition.
“Chandler can play the game anyway you want him to,” said Vipers head coach Wade Waddell. “He’s physical and gifted offensively and he broke our hearts last year with the overtime winning goal.
“I know Chandler a bit on a personal level and he’s a nice and respectful kid as you will ever meet.”
Jason.simmonds@journalpioneer.com
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