Article: Is Matt Boldy Ready To Make 'The Leap?'

[Tony Abbott]

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[Luke Sims]

Yes.

[vonlonster67]

I've been a Boldy fan since I first heard his name on draft day and started to follow him at Boston College and read about all his accolades at NTDP.

It's not been an easy climb for Boldy getting HERE.  He's had his doubters and naysayers after his first year at BC.

Is he better long term than KK, I'm not ready to go there quite yet and I support Bolds through and through. They are such different players and head to head bring different dynamics.

I see Boldy bringing a man's game as he gets older with his fundamentals. Last year he had a fight and brought a new level of physical that I think he's trying to improve on.

I don't believe we have seen his best yet and  I believe he will be a great player and awesome complementary player to KK, Rossi, Yurov and Dino.  His consistency challenge will be stable production, sustainability and staying injury free.

 

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

Because Boldy doesn't rely on his footspeed, one of the only mediocre parts of his game, I would like to think that he will age very well and continue to improve, even into his 30's. 

Here's hoping the above article holds water and Boldy is just showing flashes of what he will be in the future!

[Pewterschmidt]

If we don't want the next two years to be an absolute shit show where this team goes sideways and down to the right, I hope Boldy continues to develop on a steep upward trajectory.  He's one of our few bright spots currently.  Good news for this fan is I believe Boldy will grow into a complete NHL stud over next few years.

[Protec]

Nothingburger first preseason game after a lot of golf notoriety over the Summer. 

Maybe he needs a few practice swings? Maybe he just needs to get accustomed to the green and wheat after a Summer of pastel shirts? Perhaps his timing will align with the NHL instead of the tee box? It's possible he's gotta get his legs back after driving the cart 18 holes a day?

I think Sammy Walker has 5 goals in his last two games. Helper or two. Khaira with a goal per game pace. I like Boldy too. It'll be great if he can start out-playing those guys.

[Velgey]

Looking at the players on the list above, I think there might actually be a better than 20% chance Boldy makes "the Leap". Some of those players, like Koptiar and Toews, played their early-to-middle 20s seasons when scoring had not shot up to its current level. One or two players across the entire league would reach the 100 point mark. Last season 11 players did that with a few more just a handful of points shy. It's easier to score and that will make it easier for Boldy to make the Leap. Of course it will also make it easier on KK to score and maintain his status as the scoring leader on the Wild. But I don't really care who wins that contest. In either case, the Wild and the fans win too.

[Wild4Ever]

When Boldy became the scoring focus, after Kaprisov went down, the light bulb finally lit for him. He became a focused player, in a zone. When this happens you're oblivious to everything but the task at hand and the game slows down a bit. He had the patience to find a scoring opportunity before he pulled the trigger. We can only hope the scoring light stays on for him. Looking to see if he can regain that feeling.

[Protec]

Boldy has been somewhat hot & cold while being good overall. I think if he could find the consistency this year, everyone will be very happy. Nice when he stepped up and started scoring hat-tricks when #97 went down but the Wild could benefit from more steady production. The playoffs are an area where he could also be harder. Rather than just spending more time in the sand than David Hasslehoff, save a little bit and apply it to paper for your game. 

I suppose you can get the grit from your Golf game.

Edited September 28, 2023 by Protec

[Wild4Ever]

I think it's a bit unfair to compare Boldy to Kaprisov. If anybody is thinking Boldy will become the Wild's 2nd lethal scoring threat, let's compare him to Kevin Fiala this year.

[Beast]

Boldy barely finished in the top 100 players in the NHL in points last year (tied for 89th, behind the legendary Vince Dunn of the Kraken), and it’s largely because he caught fire for a few weeks.  Dude is nowhere near a “superstar” in the league, and there’s much more than an 80% he won’t be.

The number of other 21 year old players to do something at some point in history is not statistically relevant to Boldy in any way.

Also, “the Illuminati” is a real group founded in Bavaria in 1700s.  They factually existed.  It’s not really an opinion or something you can believe in or not believe in.

[Protec]

^^^  

Also if the Earth is round with the radius they claim, how is it possible to see the entire Chicago skyline from across Lake Michigan over 40 miles away? Also if we're hurling through the universe at 1000mph while spinning and everything else is moving too how can the stars remain the same for thousands of years? 

I'm gonna go ahead and believe in Boldy big studness when I see it with my own eyes. Can he do it sure probably, but let's not get the cart ahead of the horse. Being on NHL.com for golf over the summer and doing zip in preseason game one isn't sweet IMO. 

[Velgey]

2 hours ago, Beast said:

Dude is nowhere near a “superstar” in the league, and there’s much more than an 80% he won’t be.

What's your standard for "superstar"? Top 10 for his position across the league? Top 20? Maybe he's doesn't ever reach that level (although I think he probably will during his peak years at least).

I do think he's already reached "star" level, at least for the Wild. Maybe that's the result of watching too many seasons when the best scorers for the Wild were well below a point-per-game. In the 13-14 season, Jason Pominville led the team with 30g-30a-60p. The following season, Zach Parise was the leader with 33g-29p-62p. Boldy already delivers that level of scoring and presence for the team and there looks to be room for growth.

[MNCountryLife]

Boldy and Kirll will get their points.  I don't think anyone doubts that.  But this is a team that needs depth scoring to succeed.  We will need a bunch of players contributing in different games to be in the playoff hunt.  If players rely on Kirill and Boldy to score all the goals... we will fail.

[M_Nels]

14 minutes ago, MNCountryLife said:

Boldy and Kirll will get their points.  I don't think anyone doubts that.  But this is a team that needs depth scoring to succeed.  We will need a bunch of players contributing in different games to be in the playoff hunt.  If players rely on Kirill and Boldy to score all the goals... we will fail.

I would go as far to say "If the players rely on the top 2 lines to score all the goals..." We've got 6 guys that can get points and score, it's the other 6 that are the concern.

That 3rd line to me is even more of a question mark than the 4th line at the moment. We all know Freddy's shootout prowess and his slick handles but Rossi is the big unknown if he'll be able to distribute and drive plays, also unknown if Moose will get his touch back now that he's healthy.

I think having Maroon on the 4th will open that line up a little bit. Dewar gets better every year and Duhaime has some sneaky handles. With a touch better speed & skill from Maroon over Reaves I think that line produces more than it did last year. 

[Pewterschmidt]

18 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

Duhaime has some sneaky handles

I was with you up to this point.  This is a guy whose first goal bounced off his butt as he was bending down to pick up his stick. #saysitall.  I’m a Duhzy fan, but bro needs to bring more bang to his game to remain/become relevant because his hands will never (ever) be his strength.  His game is a smaller softer faster younger Ryan Reeves.  

[Protec]

50 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

I would go as far to say "If the players rely on the top 2 lines to score all the goals..." We've got 6 guys that can get points and score, it's the other 6 that are the concern.

That 3rd line to me is even more of a question mark than the 4th line at the moment. We all know Freddy's shootout prowess and his slick handles but Rossi is the big unknown if he'll be able to distribute and drive plays, also unknown if Moose will get his touch back now that he's healthy.

I think having Maroon on the 4th will open that line up a little bit. Dewar gets better every year and Duhaime has some sneaky handles. With a touch better speed & skill from Maroon over Reaves I think that line produces more than it did last year. 

Dallas has three pretty dangerous lines. MN has not proven two lines are super dangerous. One, yes. Two, okay. Three, no. All four, nope. 

If Khaira keeps up his play, I'd like to see him make it and hopefully better scoring depth develops. Especially if Rossi or Walker could bring that to the bottom six. We will see. So far the Wild have not shown to have the needed balance.

[M_Nels]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I was with you up to this point.  This is a guy whose first goal bounced off his butt as he was bending down to pick up his stick. #saysitall.  I’m a Duhzy fan, but bro needs to bring more bang to his game to remain/become relevant because his hands will never (ever) be his strength.  His game is a smaller softer faster younger Ryan Reeves.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI99OCjFqFA

https://www.nhl.com/wild/video/duhaime-scores-on-backhand-342446450

Yeah I guess handles wasn't the right word, sneaky shot. These goals came to mind right away but IIRC he had a couple other good wristers for goals last year. But yeah you are correct, his hands are not his strong point and not his calling card. His calling card is playing a heavy forecheck, being a solid PKer, bringing spark and using his speed to create & win battles.

[Tony Abbott]

8 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I was with you up to this point.  This is a guy whose first goal bounced off his butt as he was bending down to pick up his stick. #saysitall.  I’m a Duhzy fan, but bro needs to bring more bang to his game to remain/become relevant because his hands will never (ever) be his strength.  His game is a smaller softer faster younger Ryan Reeves.  

Oh, cool, so a better Ryan Reaves. 

[mnfaninnc]

10 hours ago, Velgey said:

What's your standard for "superstar"? Top 10 for his position across the league? Top 20? Maybe he's doesn't ever reach that level (although I think he probably will during his peak years at least).

Top 5 in the league at the position (in that, LD and RD). But, today it all gets watered down. Superstar is an elite term and we should leave it as elite.

Top 20 at the position could be a star, but even that is getting watered down. Media refers to "stars" as merely starters. 

[mnfaninnc]

So, in this comparison, what happens if Boldy and Kaprizov end up being on the same line? To me, I think both players elevate. Boldy can't do it all by himself, he needs some players who can also play. Had Fiala still been here last season, I think his 5v5 numbers end up looking way better. He's also not just a passenger on his line, but he does need some talent. 

I like what W4E said, that maybe the comparison to Fiala is better at this point, and it is also a good gauge. When Boldy was called up, that is when Fiala got consistent. When Johansson was acquired and Ek put on Boldy's line, that is when they caught fire. 

I'd really like to see them separate line 1 a little bit this season and see if Boldy and Kaprizov can click. I'd also like to see what Ek looks like up there with the big guys. Since we have some guys entering their final contract year, we should see if we've got internal replacements for them. 

Sure, Zuccy might be nice to have at $3m for more years, but what if Yurov or Khus%^&* can take his place? That's younger legs + lower salary! We need to see if these guys are ready, and if we resigned Zuccy, I would have no confidence that Deano would have anyone challenge Zuccarello for that position. We could find out there's someone better than Zuccy for that role!

[vonlonster67]

10 hours ago, M_Nels said:

I would go as far to say "If the players rely on the top 2 lines to score all the goals..." We've got 6 guys that can get points and score, it's the other 6 that are the concern.

That 3rd line to me is even more of a question mark than the 4th line at the moment. We all know Freddy's shootout prowess and his slick handles but Rossi is the big unknown if he'll be able to distribute and drive plays, also unknown if Moose will get his touch back now that he's healthy.

I think having Maroon on the 4th will open that line up a little bit. Dewar gets better every year and Duhaime has some sneaky handles. With a touch better speed & skill from Maroon over Reaves I think that line produces more than it did last year. 

My take is we are going to have one of the better 4th lines in the Central. I would expect a much bigger impact than last year for sure. Not really sure  what Reavo's purpose was on the ice last year?

[Wild4Ever]

Reeves was the ingredient that mellowed the pot and allowed our top lines to play hockey. It's not fair asking Moose to be the lone ranger, so he and Maroon will be there to see who wants some, this year. I can't wait.

[Velgey]

12 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Top 5 in the league at the position (in that, LD and RD). But, today it all gets watered down. Superstar is an elite term and we should leave it as elite

That's fair. That would work out to not quite one superstar per team on average... which seems about right. I live in DC and when the Capitals won the Cup in 2018, they arguably had two superstars: Ovechkin and Carlson. They also had three stars in Kuzentsov, Backstrom, and Holtby. Looking at some of the other recent Cup winners, and that feels like about the top level talent a team needs to make it (among other factors like depth and health and luck).

The Wild have one superstar in Kaprisov. After that, it feels like they have a lot of guys who are borderline stars - Brodin, Erikson Ek, Boldy, Gustavsson, Zuccarello, and Spurgeon. They are either elite in some areas, unproven but promising, or excellent but on the downslope. Is that enough to make some noise this year?

[vonlonster67]

1 hour ago, Velgey said:

That's fair. That would work out to not quite one superstar per team on average... which seems about right. I live in DC and when the Capitals won the Cup in 2018, they arguably had two superstars: Ovechkin and Carlson. They also had three stars in Kuzentsov, Backstrom, and Holtby. Looking at some of the other recent Cup winners, and that feels like about the top level talent a team needs to make it (among other factors like depth and health and luck).

The Wild have one superstar in Kaprisov. After that, it feels like they have a lot of guys who are borderline stars - Brodin, Erikson Ek, Boldy, Gustavsson, Zuccarello, and Spurgeon. They are either elite in some areas, unproven but promising, or excellent but on the downslope. Is that enough to make some noise this year?

Velgey, perception and exposure can be the one variable factor.

If you watch NHL network, you would think there aren't any other hockey teams other than Toronto and the East Coast teams. Then Vegas was heard at the Cup.

There's talent obviously, but I believe those teams and players get the benefit of the big hockey markets in regard to perception of players due to exposure.

I'd argue success (playoff hockey) is a huge piece and so until that time the Wild have to live with their situation. It seems like it takes a long time for the Wild or their players to get acknowledged for any status, awards or accolades!  

KK is now a bona fide player, Brodin should be there on D with him as they both can change the trajectory of a game. That should be the measure!