After scoring two goals in his first two games this season, Matt Boldy went on a drought.
A long drought.
A drought so long that Minnesota Wild fans began to question whether they were staring at another misfire on a first-round pick.
Boldy was not on the scoresheet for 12 of the next 13 games, including a 10-game run stretching from Oct. 13 through Nov. 26. It was not the way Minnesota’s 12th overall pick from the 2019 draft wanted to start his NCAA career.
Boldy picked up in an assist in the team’s final game of 2019 against Notre Dame. When they returned following the flip to 2020, Boldy has been a new player for Boston College.
On a line with Alex Newhook and Mike Hardman, Boldy has found his game in 2020 and has gone on an absolute tear. Boldy has registered 23 points in 19 games, and has absolutely put himself on the map in college hockey while helping Boston College win the Hockey East regular-season championship for the 17th time in their history.
Boldy’s surge in points since the calendar flipped to 2020 has him outperforming the likes of recent NCAA players Alex Tuch, Jordan Greenway and Ryan Donato in terms of points per game during their freshman season. While it is not high up the chart of NCAA leaders, the hope is that Boldy can turn this second half of the season into a full one next year and be one of the top scorers in the NCAA.
[videopress 8u2vBh3e]Recent Minnesota Wild players as a freshman in the NCAA:
- Luke Kunin (Wisconsin) – 0.94 Points Per Game
- Matt Boldy (Boston College) – 0.76 PPG
- Alex Tuch (Boston College) – 0.75 PPG
- Jordan Greenway (Boston University) – 0.66 PPG
- Ryan Donato (Harvard) – 0.65 PPG
At 24-8-2 and ranked No. 5 in the NCAA, Boston College is heading into the Hockey East Tournament this weekend in hopes of wrapping up a playoff championship in addition to their regular-season title. The Eagles will host Providence in a best-of-three series, and should they advance, will go on to the semifinals in Boston the following weekend.
When picked 12th overall, Boldy was unfairly put up next to the high-scoring winger Cole Caufield who was available for the Wild to pick, but ended up falling to No. 15 and Montreal. While those who criticize the pick still look at the stats and say Caufield has had a better season (19G-17A-36P), they don’t see that Boldy has outscored the Wisconsin winger by a 23-16 point margin since Jan. 1.
Sure, Caufield does not play on the same caliber of team as Boldy, but it’s still worth noting that Minnesota’s pick has put up substantial points the past two months and change.
Caufield could easily turn out to be a better NHL player than Boldy. But that will only be discovered in time. For now, while those looking to point fingers at perhaps another wasted first-round pick, they should not be pointed at Boldy, who has settled in nicely at Boston College.
A full year of scoring like this, and you could easily find Boldy in the NHL in 2021-22.
