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Devils' Wood gets mixed messages from mom and dad after starting brawl

new jersey devils miles wood nhl fight
New Jersey Devils rookie Miles Wood goes after New York Rangers’ Nick Holden. (Photo by Duncan Williams/CSM/REX/Shutterstock)

New Jersey rookie Miles Wood scrolled through his text messages in the post-game dressing room after the Devils defeated their rivals, the Rangers, 3-2 in overtime Tuesday night.

There was one from his father.

“Dad said, ‘Good Job.'”

And there was another from his mother.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

The messages were short, to the point, but the 21-year-old Wood knew exactly what each of his parents referred to.

You see, late in the second period Tuesday, Wood helped to start a mini riot on the Prudential Center ice, the type of brawl that happened more frequently back in the eighties and nineties when his father, Randy Wood, played for the Islanders, Sabres, Maple Leafs and Stars over an 11-year National Hockey League career.

It all began when Miles was driven hard, at full speed, into the stanchion near his team’s bench by Rangers defenseman Nick Holden with less than a minute to play in period No. 2.

At first, Wood was in a heap on the ice.

“When I first saw him go down, I thought, ‘Oh boy he is hurt,'” Wood’s father told Yahoo Canada Sports. “Then I saw him get up, and I was on the edge of my seat because I knew he was fired up. Others may have thought he was getting back into the play. I knew he was going after (Holden).”

Randy was correct. Miles jetted straight for Holden, dropping his stick and shedding his gloves along the way.

Unlike Miles’ father, Holden had no idea Wood would react in such a manner to the unpenalized hit. As such, the younger Wood landed roughly a half-dozen blows with his right hand before Holden could fight back, triggering two other altercations simultaneously.

“(Miles has) done that in other times of his career, where he felt that if someone took a cheap shot, or a questionable hit, on him, he was right there to defend himself,” explained Randy Wood matter of factly. “It wasn’t a surprise to me.”

Watching at home on television, as they always do, in Manchester, Massachusetts – yes, by the sea, as Casey Affleck recently made so famous on the big screen – Randy and Cheryl Wood fired off simple text messages to their son.

“In the heat of the moment, I understood why he was upset, and I didn’t take offense to it at all,” said Randy, who appeared in 741 career games, scored 175 goals, and accumulated 603 penalty minutes from 1986-87 through 1996-97.

“That’s part of growing up in the league, establishing yourself, and establishing the push back you’re going to have so guys don’t take advantage of you.”

Cheryl, the wife of a one-time NHL player and the mother to a current one, understands that thinking. She doesn’t quite like it, though.

“I don’t think she was necessarily thrilled with it when I was fighting, but seeing her youngest son fighting definitely upsets her more,” explained Randy. “I don’t think that’s really what she wants to see Miles doing. She’d rather see him scoring goals and assists.”

As for her text message?

“She was just trying to keep a little more peace, I guess,” offered Wood with a laugh. “She was like I understand why you did that, but let’s try not to ever do something like that again.”

Of course, there is a lot more to Miles’ game than the occasional fight or the team-high 70 penalty minutes.

The first thing that jumps out at you is the elite-level speed, not dissimilar from his father’s biggest asset back in the day.

Then there is the offensive skill set that landed Miles a regular spot on the Devils power play this season.

“I think he’s just a better all-around player in every part of the game that I was,” Randy said of his son, who has eight goals and 16 points in 52 games. “I am real excited to see where he can go with the talent that he has.”

Another similarity between father and son is what’s at the heart of Miles’ response to the Holden hit Tuesday night.

“What I see in Miles, and what I think I had, is he loves to compete,” offered Randy. “If I lost at anything, it would kill me. I saw a lot of those same things in Miles growing up.

“I love his compete level. It’s why I think he will have a really good National Hockey League career.”