LW Matthew Boldy - Boston College, NCAA (2019, 12th, MIN)

[AmericanDream]

I remember that time he didn't make the WJC team, some players can let that demoralize them, but Boldy absolutely let it motivate a fire in him for the following year and hasn't let up since.

 

[bsu]

I thought he was going to a Duck until Zegras dropped. What a player I hope the Ducks can find someone like him this draft.

 

[voxel]

For a newly 20-year old he is strong along the boards (he shrugged off various hits while protecting the puck), has soft hands (never watched him before), great hand-stick co-ordination, and a wickedly hard slapshot. Please don't rush him Wild.

He was super impressive in the AHL last season when I saw him.

Landeskog is not a comparison I'd make.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

Potential imo:
high-end: Rantanen
low-end: Filip Forsberg

 

[57special]

I love watching him play. Will be curious how his puck protection game progresses as he fills out. He is already tall, and long. Great hands, brain, passing, and imagination. He and Robertson are two young players who I love to watch. He is flashier than Robertson, but both guys get the job done.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

Little between the legs chip:

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

He's played 41 games (half a season) and is on a 30 goal, 70 point pace for an 82 game season. Not bad for the newly turned 21 year old.

 

[north21]

Been nothing short of amazing, maybe needs to shoot a little bit more but that will come. My god once this kid gets some experience he will be even more lethal. We just need to keep him and Fiala together.

 

[Baaaaaaaaaaaaah]

Too bad he was hurt to start the season. Calder would have been his easy I believe.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Been nothing short of amazing, maybe needs to shoot a little bit more but that will come. My god once this kid gets some experience he will be even more lethal. We just need to keep him and Fiala together.

How does he compare to a prospect with a similar role this past season, Cutter Gauthier?

Anyone have thoughts on how they compared as a prospect?

 

[kilowatt]

boldy's so good, f*** you minnesota

 

[KapG]

Been nothing short of amazing, maybe needs to shoot a little bit more but that will come. My god once this kid gets some experience he will be even more lethal. We just need to keep him and Fiala together.

The thing with his shot is that it’s an absolute laser beam. So if he starts using that a lot more….boy oh boy look out

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

How does he compare to a prospect with a similar role this past season, Cutter Gauthier?

Anyone have thoughts on how they compared as a prospect?

Don’t think Cutter is as skilled or as smart. He’s probably a better skater at the same age though

 

[57special]

What a draft for the USNDP. Hughes, Zegras, Knight, Boldy, Caufield already looking very promising in the NHL. Turcotte and York a bit slower to develop, but will probably have decent careers at least.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

What a draft for the USNDP. Hughes, Zegras, Knight, Boldy, Caufield already looking very promising in the NHL. Turcotte and York a bit slower to develop, but will probably have decent careers at least.

It'll be fun to see how they compare to this year's crop, who are also impressive: Cooley, Nazar, Gauthier, Howard, Chesley, Snuggerud, Hughes, McGroarty, et al.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Don’t think Cutter is as skilled or as smart. He’s probably a better skater at the same age though

Yeah, I think the IQ and skating is what jumps out the most to me and the big difference. Boldy has a better skills package overall, but Gauthier is better in some ways at that age (shot/stick handling?)

 

[Nino Noderreiter]

Boldy is now up to 15g & 37 points in 43 games while being a +18. He has been able to be the rare rookie that not only shows that he can keep up and produce well playing with top 6 NHL talent as a rookie, but he has been one of the biggest drivers in changing the trajectory of his line & thus his team. Fiala is averaging over a 110 point per 82 game pace in games with Boldy & Gaudreau is at over a 60 point per 82 game pace as well. Prior to Boldy's addition to the line, both were averaging about 50 points & 30 points per 82 games respectively. Part of this is that the 3rd player on that line prior to Boldy was what we could probably call a replacement level player (think Victor Rask & Rem Pitlick). That being said, over similar sample sizes in both stretches with the only difference being Boldy he clearly is not just a passenger but a driver of a line that has produced points as well as any other line in the league for the most part during that stretch.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Boldy has stepped in from Day 1 & played like a top-line or borderline top-line forward, been a strong two-way player, and processed the game at an elite level. Boldy has an elite frame (6'3) that he is still growing into and will likely add 15-20 pounds towards over the next few years and he also has an elite hockey IQ, vision, and puck skills for any size let alone 6'3. Boldy drives transition play through the neutral zone whether skating the puck or making quick decisions and skillfully finding ways to make area passes into soft areas in the defense that spring Wild forwards. He's a dangerous player scoring off the rush whether off his own shot or by adeptly finding space on the rush and either firing quick shots with a great release at the net or smartly changing angles and finding shooting lanes--all with a patience that really only elite players usually have.

He is also great in the offensive zone & is already an extremely strong player on the boards protecting the puck with his hands, frame, and reach. He's not only good protecting the puck and establishing possession on the boards but he's also really strong in the slot & in-front of the net constantly moving to get open and can finish in tight areas or score with the puck in his feet in front of the net. He is one of the quickest processors and decision-makers I've ever seen. When the play is right to do so, he will hold onto the puck but most of the time the puck is off his stick as soon as it gets there either at the net catching the goalie before he's set or to a teammate in an exposed area of the ice as the defense rotates to him and doesn't even realize what's happening until they are in panic & scramble mode. Because of this he is actually an extremely low turnover player and when his plays don't connect in the way he intends it's usually still a neutral or positive play that doesn't create odd-man rushes and other things the other way.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

I guess the question is, if Boldy is already this good and can essentially operate and maximize play outcomes all over the ice, wherever he touches the puck, and be extremely dangerous both with and without the puck... how good can he be? Boldy is already a 30g - 70+ point per 82 game strong two-way player on a top 5-10 team in the league (playing winning hockey) at 20-21 years old. There are areas for Boldy to improve especially in terms of any improvement he can have with his skating ability & also in how he works to move his feet without the puck to maximize the speed at which he plays at given that he doesn't have elite top-end foot speed or acceleration. However, it seems that most of Boldy's progression from a 70+ point player to a PPG+ two-way play-driving wing will just come from additional experience and maturation of his frame. Can you imagine how hard he's going to be to knock off the puck when he adds 20 pounds of muscle?

Boldy consistently gets buried in conversations about Zegras/Lundell/Raymond/Caulfield and others, but I'm not so sure he won't go ahead and be the best of all of them. Boldy is basically developing into the next Mark Stone/Mikko Rantanen type of winger. That may sound like a lot to say but he's already a 70-75 point per 82 game player on a playoff team that plays above-average-defense. Zegras may be more flashy, but there are few players in the NHL that have a skillset like Boldy at his size and those that do are all elite players. The game has done nothing but come extremely easy to Boldy since Day 1. His game has almost no holes already and there's not really an area of the game where he doesn't have something in his tool set that allows him to make an above average or elite impact.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

I know at this point we are all in agreement that Boldy has had a really strong rookie season. But are we properly discussing what we are seeing? I mean is there any other outcome possible other than a Rantanen/Stone/Robertson type of player? How many offensive players have we seen come into the league at 20 that does as many things well in as many different areas as Boldy does at 20-21 years old?

I'm not saying that Boldy is McDavid, Ovechkin, Crosby, Kaprizov, etc level as a prospect but I think he may be as good as anyone sort of outside of that most elite tier of young player coming into the league.

 

[MuckOG]

Love me some Boldy.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Boldy is now up to 15g & 37 points in 43 games while being a +18. He has been able to be the rare rookie that not only shows that he can keep up and produce well playing with top 6 NHL talent as a rookie, but he has been one of the biggest drivers in changing the trajectory of his line & thus his team. Fiala is averaging over a 110 point per 82 game pace in games with Boldy & Gaudreau is at over a 60 point per 82 game pace as well. Prior to Boldy's addition to the line, both were averaging about 50 points & 30 points per 82 games respectively. Part of this is that the 3rd player on that line prior to Boldy was what we could probably call a replacement level player (think Victor Rask & Rem Pitlick). That being said, over similar sample sizes in both stretches with the only difference being Boldy he clearly is not just a passenger but a driver of a line that has produced points as well as any other line in the league for the most part during that stretch.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Boldy has stepped in from Day 1 & played like a top-line or borderline top-line forward, been a strong two-way player, and processed the game at an elite level. Boldy has an elite frame (6'3) that he is still growing into and will likely add 15-20 pounds towards over the next few years and he also has an elite hockey IQ, vision, and puck skills for any size let alone 6'3. Boldy drives transition play through the neutral zone whether skating the puck or making quick decisions and skillfully finding ways to make area passes into soft areas in the defense that spring Wild forwards. He's a dangerous player scoring off the rush whether off his own shot or by adeptly finding space on the rush and either firing quick shots with a great release at the net or smartly changing angles and finding shooting lanes--all with a patience that really only elite players usually have.

He is also great in the offensive zone & is already an extremely strong player on the boards protecting the puck with his hands, frame, and reach. He's not only good protecting the puck and establishing possession on the boards but he's also really strong in the slot & in-front of the net constantly moving to get open and can finish in tight areas or score with the puck in his feet in front of the net. He is one of the quickest processors and decision-makers I've ever seen. When the play is right to do so, he will hold onto the puck but most of the time the puck is off his stick as soon as it gets there either at the net catching the goalie before he's set or to a teammate in an exposed area of the ice as the defense rotates to him and doesn't even realize what's happening until they are in panic & scramble mode. Because of this he is actually an extremely low turnover player and when his plays don't connect in the way he intends it's usually still a neutral or positive play that doesn't create odd-man rushes and other things the other way.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

I guess the question is, if Boldy is already this good and can essentially operate and maximize play outcomes all over the ice, wherever he touches the puck, and be extremely dangerous both with and without the puck... how good can he be? Boldy is already a 30g - 70+ point per 82 game strong two-way player on a top 5-10 team in the league (playing winning hockey) at 20-21 years old. There are areas for Boldy to improve especially in terms of any improvement he can have with his skating ability & also in how he works to move his feet without the puck to maximize the speed at which he plays at given that he doesn't have elite top-end foot speed or acceleration. However, it seems that most of Boldy's progression from a 70+ point player to a PPG+ two-way play-driving wing will just come from additional experience and maturation of his frame. Can you imagine how hard he's going to be to knock off the puck when he adds 20 pounds of muscle?

Boldy consistently gets buried in conversations about Zegras/Lundell/Raymond/Caulfield and others, but I'm not so sure he won't go ahead and be the best of all of them. Boldy is basically developing into the next Mark Stone/Mikko Rantanen type of winger. That may sound like a lot to say but he's already a 70-75 point per 82 game player on a playoff team that plays above-average-defense. Zegras may be more flashy, but there are few players in the NHL that have a skillset like Boldy at his size and those that do are all elite players. The game has done nothing but come extremely easy to Boldy since Day 1. His game has almost no holes already and there's not really an area of the game where he doesn't have something in his tool set that allows him to make an above average or elite impact.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

I know at this point we are all in agreement that Boldy has had a really strong rookie season. But are we properly discussing what we are seeing? I mean is there any other outcome possible other than a Rantanen/Stone/Robertson type of player? How many offensive players have we seen come into the league at 20 that does as many things well in as many different areas as Boldy does at 20-21 years old?

I'm not saying that Boldy is McDavid, Ovechkin, Crosby, Kaprizov, etc level as a prospect but I think he may be as good as anyone sort of outside of that most elite tier of young player coming into the league.

I agree, I think he's got another level in there that will just come with time/experience and I think Stone is a good comparison down to the improving skating.

Then again I'm a Kings fan, literally what is offense, young players are allowed to score?