Since the NHL’s first season in 1917-18, 1,833 players have reached the 500-game milestone.
Of those 1,833 players, 115 were selected in the fourth round of the NHL Draft.
On Saturday, when the Avalanche face the Nashville Predators, Miles Wood is set to join both of those groups of players.
“It’s been a long road to get there,” Wood said. “I’ve been around the league for my ninth year now, missed some time with my hip. But it’s crazy to think that it’s finally here.”
A Massachusetts native, Wood attended Noble and Greenough School, a prep school around 21 miles outside of Boston. After prep school, he attended college hockey powerhouse Boston College for the 2015-16 season. For people growing up in Massachusetts that want to play college hockey, Wood said the goal is to play at either Boston College or Boston University.
“I was fortunate enough to go to BC,” Wood said. “Was not there long...but we went to the [Frozen] Four. We lost to Toewser [Devon Toews and Quinnipiac University]. But it was a great time there.”
In the first 499 regular-season games of his career, Wood has recorded 177 points (89g/88a). A fourth-round pick (100th overall) by the New Jersey Devils in 2013, Wood played 402 games for the Devils before signing a seven-year contract with the Avalanche as a free agent in the summer of 2023. Wood said his draft position has given him a chip on his shoulder.
“You always have to have it,” Wood said. “[There are] no sacred cows in this league. As fast as you come into the league you can leave even faster. So for sure, that was a chip on my shoulder as a young kid trying to break into the league. But as I’ve gotten older and more established, you find new things that push you each day.”
Along his journey, Wood said he’s been supported by his parents, family, friends and his coach at Noble and Greenough School, Brian Day.
“My family,” Wood said. “[Those are] the first people that came to my mind.”
Wood said his “welcome to the NHL” moment was either his NHL debut on April 9, 2016, or his first NHL goal on November 29, 2016.
Thinking about his best memories in the NHL, Wood talked about the opportunities that playing in the league has provided him.
“Just the fun of it,” Wood said. “You get to travel, see the United States [and Canada], the teammates, and just the people that you meet from all walks of life and all around the world. It’s a great sport to play and I’m very fortunate to be playing it for so long.”
If Wood could take a time machine to his first NHL game, he said he’d tell his younger self to be patient.
“[With] my personality, I want things all at once,” Wood said. “But I think throughout the ride, throughout the nine years, it goes so quickly, and I think [you] just try to enjoy each step as best as you can.”
