I wasn't able to watch the game closely last night. Does anyone have clips, recap, anything that show some of the Boldy highlights? My first impressions thus far:
- Boldy is huge. He's listed at 6'2, but he looks even bigger. He's still lanky but his frame looks huge, especially his reach. He's going to be really hard to get the puck from with that physical profile especially as he fills out.
- Boldy seems like he has great vision/puck sense and is one of those players that look like the game slows down for them when they have the puck in the offensive zone rather than having their decision-making sped up.
- I really like that he seems like he's the kind of player that likes to play a heavy possession game, hang onto the puck, and try different creative plays even if they don't work out.
- Boldy may not have top-end speed, but his edge work, frame, and length allow him to create the space he needs in the offensive zone.
- His presence on the PP is something I noticed in the AHL, but he's already carried it over to the NHL. He seems like he's really good at making quick decisions and keeping the puck moving, but also using his reach and puck handling skills to test angles and probe the penalty killing box forcing them to break structure. I've seen it early, but also from his AHL highlights I love that he also has a really great one-timer that it seems like he can get off if you put it anywhere close. If we have another player that can beat goalies with his shot even from areas outside of the slot tha's huge. I'm not sure that I know how to explain it, but it feels dangerous when he has the puck or he's playing a 2-man game with another player on the PP in a way that I'm not sure it does even with Fiala or Kaprizov. It feels the way I feel when Kaprizov has the puck with some open space on a rush or if he's protecting the puck behind the net.
- I need to see more, but in general he seems like he's the type of player similar to Kaprizov where if he has time and space in the slot, high slot, or even around the dots in the offensive zone and can get a clean shot off... it's going to go in about half the time.
It looks like Boldy does still need to fill out in order to truly get to his puck possession potential. I've seen him fall to his knees a couple of times when he's protecting the puck and a player comes through him to try to separate him from the puck. However, he looks like he's legit already a top 6 winger if he's given linemates, ice time, and PP minutes.
I'm not sure he's the second best forward on our team. I think that Fiala/Zuccarrello are probably still better, but he's clearly a huge add to this team. He seems like he might already be at that Zuccarrello/Fiala level.