Wood's mobility and involvement all over the ice jumped off the page yet again. Almost anytime he touched the puck, Eric was eager to explode up ice, push forward, and carry pucks through the neutral zone. This confidence and assertiveness to dictate the game whenever he's on the ice has been the focal point of my assessment of his play since day 1 and was once again the core of my notes over the Silver Stick. Eric seemingly never shied away from an opportunity to rush the puck, had the tools to weave his way in and out of checks, and transport pucks up ice with control. Within the offensive zone, he connected on some nice passes to teammates in scoring positions, adding another layer to this evaluation of his play at the Silver Stick.

Across my viewings of the Panthers, Wood's skating and eagerness to explode up ice was ever so apparent. His first few strides are so powerful, allowing him to gain separation from his opponents so easily. With the puck on his stick in the defensive zone, Eric was constantly thinking about using a quick few strides to propel himself forward, blow by forecheckers, and skate it out himself. If there was space in front of him, he would continue carrying the puck up ice, going end-to-end on so many occasions and positively impacting the Panthers transition game. Similarly, without the puck, Wood was eager to use his feet to get up with the play, support the attack, and be a passing option. Everything in his game revolved around his mobility, which is an element and playstyle that will always catch my eye.

Eric Wood was plenty of fun to watch during the WSI, with great speed and pace, he was all over the ice at times, making strong plays across all 3 zones, and contributing a good 200-foot game to his team. Upon exiting the zone he demonstrated great strength, poise, and skating ability; escaping pressure whilst shielding the puck from reach of forecheckers, he got his feet moving quickly, pulled away from checkers, and was able to skate the puck out of the zone under his own power, building speed as he carried it through the neutral zone, and proceeded to connect on passes to teammates as he approached the offensive blueline. His quick footwork and agility was put on display throughout the viewings, he was consistently able to stick with some of the speedier puck carriers approaching his blueline, managing gaps, timing his stick checks appropriately, and forcing turnovers or low-danger plays. His play in the offensive zone, in particular when handling the puck, showed off some good vision, creeping from the half-wall and darting off passes to the slot, he connected on some dangerous passes to forwards in the slot thanks to some good vision and urgency of play.

Wood was the backbone of the Sun County blueline and really made so much of their game tick from his play out of the back. Once again, his four-way mobility was the foundation of my assessment of his play, as it touched every area of his game. With Wood involved, retrievals were seamless, as he had all the skating maneuverability required to pick up a dumped-in puck without losing momentum, get his head up to survey options, and then make the right play. If he was under the pressure of a forechecker, he had every pivot, cut, or lateral move to spin off and dodge to safety, ensuring he maintained possession and could spark a clean, controlled breakout. With the puck on his stick, Wood was always confident to play with control; whether that was skating it out of his zone or connecting on a pass up ice, he executed so many plays under control. All of this resulted in Eric being the Panthers leading puck mover, helping the Panthers get out of their zone and into the offensive zone with little to no hiccups when he was leading the charge in transition. While this has always been my assessment of Wood's game, seeing it in U16 action and against high-level competition at the Titans Tournament was great to see and solidified my thought of him as one of the top defenders to keep an eye on.

Wood jumped off the page very early in the prospects game due to his mobility. His ability to use quick lateral cuts, pivots, and turns was so evident early in this match, and he continued to flex his mobility all game long. He constantly evaded forecheckers with slick lateral cuts and advanced play up ice due to his ability to escape pressure with his feet. Eric relied on his mobility mainly to create separation from forecheckers and defenders, but there were moments of off-puck activation and transition suppression, which showcased his mobility in different circumstances.