2025-26 Season Spotlight: Matt Boldy
He's beginning to believe
What a difference a month makes.
Following a dismal 3-6-3 October (29th in the NHL), the Wild posted the league’s second-highest points percentage in November thanks to rookie Jesper Wallstedt standing tall between the pipes (1st in SV%, 1st in GSAA/60), sounder team defense and Mats Zuccarello’s return to the lineup.
Matt Boldy’s performance has been pivotal to his club’s turnaround as well. Though he’s been strong all season, he scaled to new heights last month (T-6th in goals, T-14th in points).
Here’s how.
Puck Protection
Minnesota’s matchup line consists of Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson. The distinction between a matchup and shutdown unit bears repeating in this case because JEE’s wingers are solid overall yet not smothering enough to silence the opposition’s top guns.
They minimize the influence of other teams’ stars by forcing them on their heels and playing them to a draw (or better) rather than wiping their offense out altogether. In order to accomplish this, zone time is a must.
Boldy shines as a puck-dominant forward who dictates the pace of proceedings. He can attack on a dime or impose his brand of trench warfare. Listed at 6’2” and 201 pounds, he plays with the length of a 6’4” winger, cradling the puck beyond defenders’ reach, waiting for them to show their cards and then springing into the void created by their commitment:
While the 24-year-old’s frame and puck skills have always perplexed defenders, he appears more confident in possession than ever. His grasp on distance management and defensive assignments leaps off the screen.
This sequence vs. CHI reveals the ease with which he conjures the right answers:
After picking off Louis Crevier (CHI 46) along the wall, Boldy (MIN 12) is sandwiched by the mammoth defenseman and Ryan Donato (CHI 8). A sketchy spot that might compel forwards to either relay to the point man (Jared Spurgeon, MIN 46) or chip the puck down low. However, he can sense the winger switching his leverage (inside to outside shoulder) to contain Spurgeon, while Crevier must account for the lower wall man (Kirill Kaprizov, MIN 97).
In actuality, he’s…already safe. He merely has to wait out the nearby defenders. They do indeed disperse and the winger now has Jason Dickinson (CHI 16) in his crosshairs:
Since Donato is in position to assist his center above the dots and Crevier must trail Kaprizov below the goal line, the space vacated by the RD represents Boldy’s cleanest path to good ice.
Invite the center to engage —> hard backhand pull —> lean in with a free-arm wedge to block Dickinson’s stick check attempt:
Kaprizov is carrying Crevier around the net. Alex Vlasic (CHI 72) is defending Eriksson Ek in the slot. Donato is too far to lend his center a hand. Simply put, the Blackhawks are in a world of trouble. If not for Dickinson’s skate clipping Boldy as he tumbles to the ice (a missed tripping call), Minnesota’s burgeoning star is crashing onto Spencer Knight’s (CHI 30) doorstep:
One crisp read after another. He’s continually aware of how to stack the odds in his favor.
It’s worth noting that Boldy isn’t a punishing puck protector. He doesn’t boast the broad shoulders or raw strength to fend opponents off in his sleep (e.g. Leon Draisaitl). Frankly, he’s kind of gangly. His game relies on nimble movement as well as an intuitive feel for pursuit angles.
Moreover, it depends on a familiar sight in Minny of late. The mohawk:
Whereas Kaprizov generates bowling-ball momentum and Johansson dusts D-men on the back of his sprinter’s speed, Boldy’s trickery is built around his length. A player of his size seldom features such quick hips, and when you couple them with his wingspan, the result is a forward who can dangle the puck outside your grasp without risking exposure.
It comes so naturally that you almost expect him to go 10-and-2 on every touch. The trouble is identifying where he goes from there. Manipulating his posture introduces new passing corridors, cutback possibilities and deceptive hesitation maneuvers to the outside.
For a 6’2” forward, he’s really slippery out there. Instead of leaning on hard stops or a heavy wall game, his suddenness enables him to rack up wins—minor and major alike—in a hurry.
Puck protection isn’t strictly a 1-on-1 proposition, of course. In traffic, especially on entries, he requires other ploys to prevail:
I’ve slowed these clips down to highlight Boldy’s on-puck savvy. As he approaches the jaws of the defense, he anticipates stick-on-stick contact. Watch him underhandle (blade in the air) to prevent a loss of control, clock his counterpart’s leverage and then suss out his escape route.
This is a player who recognizes when possession is in peril and acts accordingly, sowing confusion via crafty skating or letting the puck travel for him as he cuts off any back pressure. Granted, he can’t play keep-away for minutes on end, but his knack for gaining half a step on opponents can prolong the life of the Wild’s attacks.
Better yet, toppling the first domino sometimes triggers an avalanche that culminates in scoring chances:
Andrei Svechnikov (CAR 37) takes an aggressive angle —> explosive backhand-to-forehand pull —> inside track —> high short-side bid + rebound opportunity for Jake Middleton (MIN 5).
Self-chip to foil Ryan Graves’ (PIT 27) clearance —> swivel onto the loose puck —> mohawk out of the corner to spot the sinking D-man (Brock Faber, MIN 7) —> seam pass —> back-door look.
Large gap between the LD and high strong-side forward (Frank Nazar, CHI 91) —> mini-hawk + inside pull —> sauce between the two remaining Blackhawks forwards —> Zeev Buium (MIN 8) and Kaprizov nearly cash.
In these three examples, the defense is fine until Boldy takes matters into his own hands. The moment he claims an edge, it can’t help but scramble out of position and reveal eye-popping cracks in the process.
To be fair, the 2019 first-rounder isn’t without flaws:
He has room to grow in transition, where he lacks separation speed and his puck management alternates between cagey and careless. Johansson also deserves special mention for the puck-carrying that facilitates his linemate’s OZ protection in the first place. On the puck, Boldy puts defenders through the wringer when working on the outside, but he’ll try—and typically fail—to weave through them more often than you’d like. Focusing on efficiency and mass (~10 pounds) would turn him into a proper TANK on the puck.
As it is, his smarts and elusiveness have delivered the forward corps’ highest expected goal rate despite absorbing its stiffest competition:
From a strictly defensive POV, Boldy’s efforts are perhaps a tad overrated. He’s an excellent matchup forward nonetheless due to his ability to fight fire with fire. To tilt the ice against top-flight opponents. Minnesota owns 51.7% of the shot attempts and 67.9% of the goals during his shifts.
Breaking even under that deployment, thereby placing the outcome in Kaprizov’s hands, would be a net positive.
Boldy’s trio is winning those minutes outright—and by a wide margin.
Dual Threat
Boldy’s offense and puck dominance have dovetailed this season. But while he’s expanded his repertoire in protection, he’s whittled his decision-making down to a black-and-white dichotomy on the attack.
In a nutshell, the fifth-year pro barely peeks at the net unless he’s in a prime shooting location (via NHL EDGE):
That’s a dramatic decrease in mid-range shots.
You’d think such a rigid approach would hinder his output. He’s so proficient in multiple offensive facets, however, that slowing him down is easier said than done. Moreover, this rigidity only applies to the broad strokes (shot vs. pass). There’s plenty of flexibility within those modes for his instincts to play their part. A swifter process affords him time to dig deeper into his bag and choose the right tool for the job.
In macro terms, he immediately knows what he wants to do on reception, which has removed any overcooking from the equation and enhanced his second-to-second menace.
He can hurt you on any given touch:
As a playmaker, he’s dexterous and diverse. He can launch dizzying one-touch interplay, slip passes are a breeze and as we covered in the previous section, he’s more than capable of withstanding the heat, scanning and dissecting the defense through misdirection or sumptuous sauce. Oh, and he’s equally artful on his forehand and backhand.
He can complete any dish in the book, although I want to point out the zippy shot-pass to Eriksson Ek in particular:
JEE has suffered through rotten puck luck this year (0.44 goals vs. 1.10 xG per 60 minutes), but this tight-window tack should prove helpful when opponents are dialed into the Wild’s frillier designs. Boldy’s finish (87 goals over the past three seasons) commands sufficient respect for quick point-of-attack changes to pay off.
Ultimately, his deft playmaking is nothing new. What’s distinguished his offense in 2025-26 is an emphasis on net drive—with “drive” serving as the operative word. While he’s no stranger to cleaning up trash in the goalmouth, he’s brought velocity to the party in 2025-26.
If you’re a hair ahead of or behind schedule in coverage, he’ll dip his shoulder and take it to the hole:
Resetting as the high forward before rumbling to the slot has created mad scrambles. His jam out wide has boosted his rush threat. We’ve seen power wraps and off-puck blitzes to the crease. He’s visibly acknowledging how bothersome his size is and embracing the HD life. Close-quarters skills + close-quarters presence = a new close-quarters terror:
Some additional numbers for context:
He ranked 38th in 5-on-5 HD attempts last season. He’s currently 15th.
He scored nine HD goals last season. He has 10 through 27 games this year.
HD goals have gone from accounting for one-third to two-thirds of his scoring output.
Boldy’s net-front offense is surging. Yet unlike specialists such as Anders Lee and Zach Hyman, it comprises just one component of a versatile offensive package. To top it off, he has ice in his veins:
Sure, the big picture seems clearer at first blush. Beneath the surface, his poker face emerges. He can shake or wear out defenders 1-on-1, he can offer quality service from anywhere in the OZ, he can finish when it’s supplied to him. He might opt for direct volleys or claw back against the current to convert a good touch into a great one. He’s somehow more and less predictable all at once.
This shift vs. the Sabres in late November exhibits the problems that his toolkit causes defenses:
After praising his talent, I’ve chosen a play that begins with a bobble. On a 2-on-2, Boldy can’t quite corral Eriksson Ek’s pass and it ends up in his feet. Returning it to his hip pocket would give Jacob Bryson (BUF 78) ample opportunity to intervene. He’s well out of shooting range too.
There is an attractive cushion behind him, though, so he channels vintage Rick Nash with a post-up move in the heart of the OZ:
On the tip of the slot without a positional advantage over Bryson, he’s thinking delay + dish. Tyson Kozak (BUF 48) is draped over Jared Spurgeon (MIN 46), whereas Tage Thompson (BUF 72) is eyeing the puck. Much better. Lure him in —> filter it to JEE. Buffalo’s star forward slides his skate to shut the door, yet the puck bounces back to Boldy.
He’s definitely in shooting territory now—especially with Eriksson Ek surrounded by Sabres—but there’s one issue: 6’6” Thompson is extending to get stick on puck:
The drivers (Spurgeon and Kozak) have passed him by. Three other Buffalo defenders are on home plate. Once again, Boldy feels the good ice at his disposal.
Pullback —> point-blank wrister:
Hopefully, this illustrates the fluidity with which he runs through his progressions. His newfound decisiveness also makes him dangerous every step of the way. In this five-second clip alone, he’s liable to roll off Bryson and into the slot, dish to Eriksson Ek or fire a wrister from 10 feet out. A solid display of the winger’s snappy processor and first-rate skill. If not for Colten Ellis’ (BUF 92) aggressive goaltending, Buffalo is fishing the puck out of its net.
Almost like a switch hitter in boxing, you…kind of know Boldy’s options and tendencies in either stance, but stopping them remains a daunting task because he executes at such a high level. There’s a weakness somewhere. He’ll find it.
Is anyone surprised that he’s posting high-water marks in expected/actual goals as a result?
By refining his shot selection and flooding the crease, Boldy is transforming from lanky finesse winger to dual-threat power forward. His total production has benefited from his evolution. At 15 goals and 29 points in 27 games, he’s pacing for a career-best 46 goals and 88 points.
Constraints look pretty good on him.
12th overall pick. Top-six prospect. Complementary star. Complete line-driver. Boldy’s stock continues to rise in spite of difficult minutes and the heaviest offensive burden on his trio. As he sands off the remaining edges of his silky-smooth game, he could unlock yet another gear.
Hell, his own GM floated the notion of a 50-goal, 50-assist season in the future. That’s no longer as outlandish as it sounded one year ago.