We’re right down to the ultimate two-player report playing cards for the Minnesota Wild, which implies it’s Matt Boldy’s flip. Regardless of some damage issues on the starting of the season that had many frightened and induced him to overlook seven video games, he bounced again nicely. He had factors in three consecutive video games following his return and stored it up sporadically all through the season.
Behind Kirill Kaprizov, Marc-André Fleury, and presumably Joel Eriksson Ek, Boldy is among the most well-known Wild gamers. Everyone seems to be watching him to see what he’ll accomplish subsequent, as he’s solely 23 years previous and has a variety of profession left. On this article we’ll have a look at a tough a part of his sport, a powerful a part of his sport, and are available up with an general grade for the season with out a playoff expertise concerned. We’ll begin together with his lack of physicality and go from there.
Boldy Can Be Extra Bodily
When a workforce has a participant like Boldy, who can rating and defend, it’s onerous to seek out something to be upset about. Nonetheless, when reviewing his stats from the previous season, there have been a few areas he might enhance on that may make him a near-perfect all-around participant. The primary space he must be higher in is his physicality.
It might sound bizarre to say a scorer ought to be extra bodily, but it surely might assist Boldy’s sport and permit him to hold onto the puck much more than he already does. Within the 75 video games he performed this previous season, he solely had 33 hits, in comparison with Connor McDavid, who had 118 hits in 76 video games. Being extra bodily might help change the play’s momentum and switch it of their favor, which might assist Boldy be extra productive.
He might additionally enhance in his blocked photographs. Whereas he does nicely defensively, he should put his physique in entrance of the puck extra. He solely blocked 32 photographs, which ought to have been greater. He doesn’t have to dam each shot that will get taken whereas on the ice, however he must do extra. Plus, the extra he blocks, the extra alternatives he has to power the puck to go the opposite means and have a breakaway.
A workforce can have all of the offense on the planet and nonetheless wrestle due to an absence of protection. The Wild have sturdy defensemen, however they need assistance right here and there, and that comes within the type of blocked photographs, which Boldy wants to assist with this coming season.
Boldy has Sturdy Puck Abilities
Boldy is considered one of a handful of gamers who improved their scoring over the previous season. He was second on the roster in factors, behind Kaprizov by 27 factors, however almost everybody has bother maintaining with Kaprizov’s scoring tempo when he will get on a roll. Boldy had 29 targets, two shy of tying his profession excessive of 31, and 40 assists, which was a career-high for a mixed whole of 69 factors, once more a career-high.
The opposite areas of his sport he shined brightly in have been his energy play, the place 10 of his targets and 25 of his factors got here from. He helped get the facility play going when it struggled, and a variety of his success got here from his willingness to take photographs. He had 227 photographs all through the season, and that was proper behind Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek. In fact, the facility play can all the time use extra photographs, and he’ll have to assist with that this coming season.
The ultimate space of his sport that deserves reward was his takeaways, by which he amassed a powerful and team-leading 61 this previous season. Most gamers have excessive giveaways, which Boldy did, however he made up for it with the takeaways. He snatched the puck away from many gamers and turned that into scoring probabilities that helped his workforce.
Boldy’s Total Grade
After wanting over each Boldy’s struggles and successes, he earned a B, identical to his teammate Eriksson Ek. Some could also be questioning why it’s not greater since he improved most of his stats, however with out a postseason, it’s onerous to give anybody a grade greater than common. Whereas it wasn’t solely on Boldy’s shoulders or on anybody alone, your complete workforce wanted to seek out methods to be higher, and typically, if one participant steps up, the entire roster can discover a solution to do the identical.
Associated: Wild Report Playing cards 2023-24: Joel Eriksson Ek
Nonetheless, it wasn’t any decrease both as a result of, once more, he did enhance his stats and was additionally second on the roster in factors. He was only one level shy of 70, and he helped get the offense going, simply not constantly. Hopefully, he can discover his scoring energy once more this coming season, set new profession highs, and assist his teammates do the identical.
