By Tom Schreier -
In his final college hockey game, Matt Boldy scored Boston College’s lone goal in a 4-1 loss to St. Cloud State on March 28, 2021. Forty-eight hours later, he signed with the Minnesota Wild and reported to Des Moines.
Boldy had 11 goals and 20 assists in 22 games with Boston College and immediately produced in the AHL. The 12th overall pick in 2019 had six goals and 12 assists in 14 games with the Iowa Wild after leaving B.C.
Still, the Wild didn’t call him up when their power play struggled in December. Nor did they add him to the playoff roster when they could have used a depth scoring. The Vegas Golden Knights beat Minnesota in seven games. In a series that close, Boldy could have been the difference.
Boldy didn’t break camp with the Wild the next year. Instead, they called him up after he scored ten points in ten games with Iowa. It created a poetic moment. Boldy debuted at TD Garden against the Boston Bruins and became the third Massachusetts-born player and first opponent to score his first goal in his hometown.
Four years later, Boldy had a goal and assist playing for Bill Guerin in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Team USA came within an overtime goal of beating Canada and winning the NHL’s international showcase in Boldy’s hometown.
Boldy had 39 points in 47 games as a rookie and averages 30 goals every 82 games. He’s a bona fide star. However, the Wild should have called Boldy up earlier. Like many of Minnesota’s prospects, Guerin and the front office left him in the minor-league oven too long, creating a strange development path without capitalizing on potential NHL production.
It’s a pattern of strange player development that Guerin has overseen since the Wild hired him in 2019.
Guerin was in the Pittsburgh Penguins front office when they drafted Calen Addison in 2018 and traded for him as the Wild GM two years later. He drafted Marco Rossi as a nearly NHL-ready center in 2020 but jerked him around early in his career. Jesper Wallstedt looked like he’d break into the NHL this season. He has a .873 save percentage in Iowa.
How can Guerin, who built Team USA and nearly upset Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off, have issues managing an NHL team? Shouldn’t his international bona fides transfer to a local club? Why does his five-year plan seem to offer Kirill Kaprizov mixed messaging?
Unfortunately, it makes sense when you step back and think about it.
Guerin was a 6-foot-2, 222 lbs. hard-nosed forward who defied NHL aging curves. He entered the league at age 21, made his first All-Star team at 30, and retired at 39. Guerin averaged 25.2 goals per game in his 20s and 30.1 in his 30s. He’s an anomaly.
However, Guerin built the Wild in his image, valuing veteran experience while slowly bringing along rookies. Many of his veteran signings have flopped, largely because few players get better as they get older, as Guerin did.
Building a team of Bill Guerins at the local level is nearly impossible. However, he can do that with an international roster.
Catch Guerin after a couple of EPAs at Tom Reid’s, and he might tell you he liked Addison, but Dean Evason was always skeptical. Guerin insists he’s happy with Rossi, who has 19 goals at the All-Star Break. However, Guerin would probably like it if Rossi had Charlie Stramel’s size. Why worry about Wallstedt when the Wild have a Filip Gustavsson at home?
Roster building is different when Guerin can draw from the U.S. population. He can find defensively-responsible defensemen who can chip in on the power play. He can find dynamic centers who are over six feet tall. America always has two or three good goalies.
Would Guerin like it if Conor McDavid was from Brockton or Sidney Crosby grew up in Bloomington? Sure. But America always has ample talent. Guerin can play create-a-player with more attribute points on the international stage. He can find players like him – or better.
However, most NHL teams have those guys locked into rookie deals or long-term contracts. The Toronto Maple Leafs won’t let Guerin bring Auston Matthews home with him if he asks nicely. He can’t stuff Connor Hellebuyck into the cargo hold when he flies home from Boston. Guerin will have to make do with Rossi and, eventually, Wallstedt.
Guerin seems to have a vision for how to build a winning hockey team. However, it lacks innovation or creativity. Everyone wants a team full of large, high-IQ veteran players who can score and defend. The best find ways to build a winner despite individual players’ shortcomings.
That will be the next step for Guerin once the league releases the Wild from cap hell next season.
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