Wild Prospect excerpts from this
NHL top 50 prospects, 2021 edition: Byfield, Caufield and Power headline Wheeler’s drafted skaters ranking – The Athletic
13.
Matthew Boldy, LW, 20 (
Minnesota Wild — 12th overall, 2019)
I’ve stuck my neck out for Boldy over the years, even when he struggled through the first half of his freshman year with the Eagles. He’s an incredibly intelligent operator on the ice who understands where to be with and without the puck, when to take a risk and when to make a smart play, and how to support and use his linemates in all three zones. But he’s also a supremely gifted puck handler who can do things in tight to his body that few 6-foot-2/6-foot-3 players can. And while he’s not the quickest player from a standstill, his skating has some sneaky elements to it that help him manipulate opponents to create spacing for himself. He’s also going to have real defensive value because of his size, length, strength along the wall and overall intuition around the sheet.
14.
Marco Rossi, C, 19 (Minnesota Wild — 9th overall, 2020)
If Rossi shows us that he’s still Rossi this fall, which I fully expect he will, he’s a better prospect than Boldy. But they’re close enough in terms of upside that I gave Boldy the slight edge here given everything that has gone on with Rossi’s development, which in effect kept him out of game action for a year and a half. Rossi will play for Austria in their Olympic qualifications over the next couple of weeks, which is big for him and something he wanted to get under his belt before Wild camp. Those games follow a five-week training camp that his camp set up for him with skills coaches, goalies and some competition in Austria this summer. According to his dad, Michael, he’s looking stronger than he did a year ago. “He looks very powerful, the pitbull.” Rossi looked like a legitimate top-flight two-way center prospect with a strong center of gravity, slick skill in traffic, playmaking acumen and a superb defensive game that would allow him to penalty kill and take late draws before the Wild drafted him ninth overall. I’m sure they’ll ease him back in before letting him run with it now, but I’d bet on the destination being the same.
49.
Calen Addison, RHD, 21 (Minnesota Wild — 53rd overall, 2018)
I’ve been pretty bullish on Addison over the years and that’s still true today. I’m a huge believer in him. He’s a beautiful lateral skater on his edges across the line or under pressure. I love his aggressiveness with (and frankly without) the puck. He wants to slide off the line and use his shot or beat the first guy off the point and riffle a pass to a teammate in a dangerous spot. He has developed some needed power and strength into his compact frame. And he has learned when to play a little more passively defensively, relying on his stick and feet more instead of always trying to overcompensate for his size by really pushing and leaning on guys along the boards (where he’s often not going to win those battles). He’s never going to be a stalwart defensively, but he’s got legitimate offensive flair and I like the way the rest of his tools work around his skill game enough to project him as a second-pairing/PP guy in the prime of his career.