2023 First-Round Pick Wood Tallies Game Winner; Molendyk, Lind Celebrate New Contracts
Behind a game-winning goal from this year’s No. 15 overall NHL Draft pick Matthew Wood, Team Gold defeated Team Blue 2-1 in the Nashville Predators Future Stars Game Thursday at Ford Ice Center Bellevue.
The game put a bow on Nashville’s 2023 Development Camp, aimed at educating and directing players in their pro development and conditioning programs.
“It was a fun week,” Wood said. “It definitely flew by, but it was a great camp. It was fun. I learned a lot. It was a great week and it’s a great city, so I had a blast.”
The game consisted of two, running-clock 30-minute halves featuring 20 minutes of five-on-five, 10 minutes of four-on-four and a five-player shootout at the end of each half.
Joey Larson scored the lone goal of the first half for Team Gold. Larson, an undrafted invite to the Predators Development Camp, just wrapped up his freshman season at the University of Northern Michigan with 27 points (13g-14a) in 36 games. An alum of the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, where he had 66 points in 61 games, Larson has three years of NCAA eligibility remaining and will transfer to Michigan State University for his sophomore season.
Nashville’s 2023 fourth-round pick Joey Willis netted the lone goal for Team Blue in the game’s final minutes. Goaltenders Gustavs Gringals and Tommy Scarfone (Gold) and Ethan Haider and Kaidan Mbereko (Blue) held their opponents scoreless in both shootouts.
During the game, it was also announced that Predators 2023 draft picks Tanner Molendyk and Kalan Lind had each signed three-year, entry-level contracts with the team that morning.
Molendyk was selected by the Predators in the first round (No. 24 overall) after establishing WHL career highs in games played (67), goals (9), assists (28) and points (37) with the Saskatoon Blades in 2022-23 and helping lead his team to the Eastern Conference Final. He called being drafted “one of the biggest days of his life” and had a terrific experience at his first Development Camp.
“It’s one of the best weeks I’ve had, and we had a lot of fun,” Molendyk said. “I had support systems everywhere, and I think I can use it to my advantage.”
Lind was selected by the Preds in the second round (No. 46 overall) after establishing WHL career highs in assists (28) and points (44) while adding in 16 goals, helping the Red Deer Rebels reach the second round of the playoffs.
“It’s pretty surreal to get drafted to an organization like this,” Lind said. “They’ve been unreal to me so far since I’ve been here. It’s going to be with me for the rest of my life.”
Lind, who joined Wood and Molendyk to win gold for Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, will take several lessons away from his first Development Camp. He enjoyed learning from the coaching staff and his fellow prospects, and he looks forward to continuing to develop alongside the next generation of Preds.
“The biggest lesson is that it’s all a progression,” Lind said. “You’re going to start at a young age and you’re not going to be at the NHL level… You know it’s going to be a long route and a hard road, but I’m excited to take the challenge.”
With Development Camp now complete, the Preds will turn their attention to Rookie Camp set to open on Sept. 13 in Nashville. The group will take part in a rookie tournament in Estero, Fla., from Sept. 15-18 before joining Nashville’s main training camp.
