Did the Minnesota Wild 'Miss' in Drafting Matt Boldy?

[CreaseAndAssist]

Did the Wild 'Miss' in Drafting Matt Boldy?

 

I give my thoughts on the selection of the Boston College winger, and other food for thought.  Enjoy and discuss. 

 

I know this could be in the prospect thread but this is focused mostly on one player.  

[IllaZilla]

It is interesting to see most other players who were on that USNDTP team pretty much picking up where they left off, and then there’s Boldy...

[DirtofMinny]

5 points in the last 5 games, seems to be shooting the puck a little more.  It is probably too early to sound any alarms.  He is on a good team and will be well seasoned.  Let's not read too much into the slow start he had.

[CreaseAndAssist]

2 hours ago, DirtofMinny said:

5 points in the last 5 games, seems to be shooting the puck a little more.  It is probably too early to sound any alarms.  He is on a good team and will be well seasoned.  Let's not read too much into the slow start he had.

 

(shrugs)  Not really, he's been shooting the puck now as he was when he was playing center.  But I take it you didn't read the article...since you continue with the rationalization.  

[DirtofMinny]

57 minutes ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

(shrugs)  Not really, he's been shooting the puck now as he was when he was playing center.  But I take it you didn't read the article...since you continue with the rationalization.  

You're correct, I only browsed your article.  I will now read more diligently.  Still, I think he will be fine.

[DirtofMinny]

Here are the numbers.  The last 5 games, he's been better, statistically.  Only guessing and hoping, but maybe he is asserting himself a little more.  IT appeared, by the boxscores, that he is in on more of the overall goals in that time.  Let's hope it works out.  

[lynxrattle]

Without the wheels it will be hard to adjust to the AHL, and a lot harder to adjust to the NHL. And even if one manages to make it, the lack of speed makes one's career a shorter one, as with age one starts getting even slower. From what we know Boldy is a miss. He's not a centre and he's not fast. Not what the Wild needs, and not a player with the one must have skill every NHL player needs nowadays. Teemu Pulkkinen is third in KHL scoring this season. A prime example of a player who can't get anywhere in the NHL because of the lack of speed.  

[CreaseAndAssist]

21 hours ago, DirtofMinny said:

Here are the numbers.  The last 5 games, he's been better, statistically.  Only guessing and hoping, but maybe he is asserting himself a little more.  IT appeared, by the boxscores, that he is in on more of the overall goals in that time.  Let's hope it works out.  

 

No.  He's the same.  The lack of goal scoring...is the same.  But please, keep rationalizing.  

[IllaZilla]

Scott Wheeler with the Athletic has Boldy rated the #2 prospect in the Wild prospect pool after Kaprizov. 

 

Doesn’t see anything wrong with his slow start. Chalked it up to Jerry York relying one his veterans. 
 

 

[4Check]

He'll be just fine.  

[CreaseAndAssist]

Reading Wheeler's column, it didn't seem to me like a guy who had watched Boldy play too much.  He looked at his draft postion, saw his crappy production...rationalized (oh, not getting enough chances because of Jerry York likes veteran players blah blah blah) and just made him the #2 guy just because.  I'll agree with his point that Boldy has reasonable lateral quickness, but no real burst or top end speed which IMO is pretty troubling for a guy picked so high.  Hell, he talked more about Filip Johansson in that same column and he was outside of Wheeler's top 10 with the team.  I didn't think it was that great of a column.    

[jammer2]

On 1/26/2020 at 1:58 PM, CreaseAndAssist said:

Did the Wild 'Miss' in Drafting Matt Boldy?

 

I give my thoughts on the selection of the Boston College winger, and other food for thought.  Enjoy and discuss. 

 

I know this could be in the prospect thread but this is focused mostly on one player.  

 Really nice article. Agree with all of that and you provided the facts to back up your theory. I usually am against labeling a kid a bust before turning pro...but the old lack of speed thing is a killer in today's NHL. I would guess around 80% of the kids who are drafted with the dreaded "lack of speed" label turn out to be busts. 

 

 I frown on my Flyers drafting anyone who cant skate ...especially in the first round!! I can site 3 recent Flyer picks who were drafted with sub par wheels. 

1) Steve Downie. Tore up the OHL...but not fast...instead we heard all the Boldy stuff...hockey sense, passing, shot, hustle...etc etc. He never scored at the rate a high first rounder should have...and he could never keep up. I believe you are either born with good wheels or you are not. There are some guys that work their tails off and become average skaters...few and far between ...like #2...

2) Sean Couturier. Demolished the QMJHL in pts and goal totals. Scored 60 in his last year. He really struggled his first 3 years, but mastered defense first and is currently one of the top 5 two way centers in the whole league. Hard work and determination made him a plus player. It can happen, but it is rare. As a rule, you should never take this type of player in the top half of the first round. It is a skaters league first and foremost. Let someone else take the gamble I say.

3) Bobby Brink. After hearing he was fairly slow, I was pleasantly surprised by his play for Team USA at the World Jrs. Turns out he can keep up but his first few steps are lacking. This is the kind of flaw that can be worked on and improved. It's not like having a lack of burst and a sub stride, those are usually a kiss of death. The Flyers got Bobby st the top of the 2nd round though...THAT is where you take those kinda shots. Kids in the 2nd are gonna have some kinds of warts...par for the course. 

 

 I agree with your theory...real good chance Boldy is s bust. A big clue is a high first round pick not making the National Jr team. That rarely happens and is cause for alarm in my books. 

 

 

 

[CreaseAndAssist]

Watched Boldy tonight in the Beanpot.  He had an assist.  Ok, but what did he REALLY do?  He passed the puck to Alex Newhook, who made a nice power move and sniped a shot over the BU's goalie's shoulder.  Boldy likes to cherrypick which helps him mask his lack of north / south speed by trying to get a head start on the rush.  Sometimes he gets caught trying to anticipate and cheating his way out of the zone, instead of staying and making sure things are taken care of offensively.  He moves ok laterally and he can dangle.  I will give him credit for him being able to make some passes in tight places.  However, he doesn't really have the speed or burst to get away from people.  He still looked to pass more than shoot the puck which is really what the Wild needed, another slow playmaking winger.  Yea...how about that.  

[DirtofMinny]

Some good news, Young Mr. Boldy has 10 points in his last 5 games.  I wish I knew what the line pairings were in College and Minor hockey.  Does anyone have a resource for that kind of thing?

 

[lynxrattle]

8 hours ago, DirtofMinny said:

Some good news, Young Mr. Boldy has 10 points in his last 5 games.  I wish I knew what the line pairings were in College and Minor hockey.  Does anyone have a resource for that kind of thing?

 

I think I read somewhere that once Boldy was taken off the center position, and back to a winger, he caught fire, and that Alex Newhook would be the center feeding him. If that is how it went, Boldy probably needs to have a good center to achieve results.

[CreaseAndAssist]

On 2/25/2020 at 10:26 PM, lynxrattle said:

I think I read somewhere that once Boldy was taken off the center position, and back to a winger, he caught fire, and that Alex Newhook would be the center feeding him. If that is how it went, Boldy probably needs to have a good center to achieve results.

 

And we could've had Newhook.  Newhook was the player the Wild should have drafted.  The Wild have plenty of wingers developing in their system...

[EJ0226]

Wild drafting.... some of the most frustrating stuff ever. Seems like they like to go for the stretch player in hopes it all works out with their top picks. Some do for sure but a lot don't. So many times it seems they have a shot for a better player overall but pick that stretch player in hopes they pan out. Boldy, I just don't see a solid future in the NHL with his slow speed. Like it or hate it but NHL is about  being big and fast. Boldy doesn't hit the check boxes for either.

[DirtofMinny]

So 14 of 15 so-called draft experts were wrong then last year.  Only 1 had Newhook ahead of Boldy and the average bewteen these guys was Boldy #9.1 to Newhook #13.4.   

 

I don't know what joy most of you find in constantly whining on this board.  They got rid of Riesbrough and then Fletcher, oh now it must be Leipold that's the problem, they get rid of Fenton, yep Leipold's guy.  Bring in Guerin, trade Zucker, fire Bruce and now Guerin is in question.   Mikko is he problem, he's too tough on the young guys.  Parise and Suter are the issue, they make too much.  Dubnyk sucks (totally agree - for many years).  

 

You know some, maybe even all are issues, some I would agree, others I would not.  But constantly whining can't be a fun life.  Let's look at the good news when we have it.  Let's cheer for the team and prospects when they deserve it.  Let's have a little fun with the Wild. 

 

One thing that I think is a posiitve right now is the prospect pool.  No #1 Center yet.  No sure fire goalie yet.  But hey, lot's of good years being had by some of our picks from the last few years.  Plus you have an AHL team that is playing pretty darn good right now.  Enjoy what you have.

[EJ0226]

17 hours ago, DirtofMinny said:

So 14 of 15 so-called draft experts were wrong then last year.  Only 1 had Newhook ahead of Boldy and the average bewteen these guys was Boldy #9.1 to Newhook #13.4.   

 

I don't know what joy most of you find in constantly whining on this board.  They got rid of Riesbrough and then Fletcher, oh now it must be Leipold that's the problem, they get rid of Fenton, yep Leipold's guy.  Bring in Guerin, trade Zucker, fire Bruce and now Guerin is in question.   Mikko is he problem, he's too tough on the young guys.  Parise and Suter are the issue, they make too much.  Dubnyk sucks (totally agree - for many years).  

 

You know some, maybe even all are issues, some I would agree, others I would not.  But constantly whining can't be a fun life.  Let's look at the good news when we have it.  Let's cheer for the team and prospects when they deserve it.  Let's have a little fun with the Wild. 

 

One thing that I think is a posiitve right now is the prospect pool.  No #1 Center yet.  No sure fire goalie yet.  But hey, lot's of good years being had by some of our picks from the last few years.  Plus you have an AHL team that is playing pretty darn good right now.  Enjoy what you have.

The problem with that attitude is a big reason MN sports are mediocre products. Now not saying you can't still cheer for them but throwing money on a mediocre product with MN pro team owners just encourages them to continue the same thing over and over. That is why the Twins have been terrible forever. Why the Wolves are also terrible. The Vikings finally after years of putting a poor product on the field seem to be trending in the right direction but only after the owners started feeling it in their pocketbooks.

Leipold, I was never a fan. This is a guy who wanted to be in the "owners club". He is a NBA guy. He found out his wifes money could not afford him a NBA team. But he was determined to be a owner so he could be "one of the boys". So he found out he could buy a NHL team with his wifes money. He bought the Preds. They were making him money but literally plateaued and sales started going down so he sold them. They have since been better then they ever have. He seen the Wild and knew the fans are almost too loyal and buy into the "one of us" and pay to watch any product out on the ice. Now granted he did try to make a splash with Parise and Suter but he extremely overpaid two players who are above average but no where near star/elite status. Think about this. Parise has only cracked top 40 four times in his career. Twice with the Devils when he had those two fluke and insane seasons. And twice with the Wild and with the Wild he never got close to his point totals with the Devils. What the Wild paid for him he needed to be running top 40 almost every season. People over looked their contracts because of the "one of us" mentality that a ton of Minnesota fans like to carry. By the time their contracts are done, if you take a blind eye look at what they did with the Wild and how it steered the franchise, it won't be hard to argue they might be two of the worst contracts the Wild will have ever signed. They prevented any good picks but only made the team good enough to be a first round punching bag for whoever they played. We now have players avoiding this franchise and let go a lot of talent because their game didn't compliment 11, 20 and 9 and watching those guys we let go flourish on other teams because they are allowed to play their game and not try to lift up the dead weight vets. And we have a owner who is BFF with 11 and 20 which should never ever happen.

 

The reason why so many people complain on here is because we love hockey, our state and our pro hockey team. We deserve so much better then this. Leipold is the center of it all trying to input his opinion on players, trades, etc. The guy has zero hockey IQ. He should only sign the checks and fire a GM if a GM gets out of control. He should be telling the players to shut up and listen to your coach. He created the chit show we see now. By the time Parise and Suter are finally gone, Chicago will have built another dynasty while the Wild are still waiting on their first all because they tried to buy on instead of build one like how teams who win the Cup do. I still cheer for them to win but am also not going to spend my hard earned money on a mediocre product either.

[CreaseAndAssist]

20 hours ago, DirtofMinny said:

So 14 of 15 so-called draft experts were wrong then last year.  Only 1 had Newhook ahead of Boldy and the average bewteen these guys was Boldy #9.1 to Newhook #13.4.   

 

I don't know what joy most of you find in constantly whining on this board.  They got rid of Riesbrough and then Fletcher, oh now it must be Leipold that's the problem, they get rid of Fenton, yep Leipold's guy.  Bring in Guerin, trade Zucker, fire Bruce and now Guerin is in question.   Mikko is he problem, he's too tough on the young guys.  Parise and Suter are the issue, they make too much.  Dubnyk sucks (totally agree - for many years).  

 

You know some, maybe even all are issues, some I would agree, others I would not.  But constantly whining can't be a fun life.  Let's look at the good news when we have it.  Let's cheer for the team and prospects when they deserve it.  Let's have a little fun with the Wild. 

 

One thing that I think is a posiitve right now is the prospect pool.  No #1 Center yet.  No sure fire goalie yet.  But hey, lot's of good years being had by some of our picks from the last few years.  Plus you have an AHL team that is playing pretty darn good right now.  Enjoy what you have.

 

This is the kind of pollyanna crap, that people said..."just be glad hockey is back in Minnesota"  Lame and weak as ever.  

[4Check]

My source of optimism......

 

1)Guerin's attempt to trade Parise, IMO a clear sign that BG recognizes the second most important issue is getting younger (the first obvious issue, generically speaking is to acquire younger and better talent)

2)I'm cautiously optimistic through trade, buyout and/or expiration he'll move 6 of the 8 bad (IMO) Wild contracts within 16 months.

3)That Guerin didn't trade simply for the sake of making trades.  Obviously he could have found a trading partner to move Brodin and/or Dumba.    But if it didn't offer a return of a 1st or 2nd line center or goalie (either current NHLer or elite prospect), IMO it would have been foolish.  

4) I'm optimistic that at least 2 of the 4 top Wild forward prospects will be eventual first or second line caliber.

5) I'm cautiously optimistic that Addison will be a top 4 D.

6) I'm very optimistic that from their top 4 goalie prospects 2 will be, at very least NHL backup quality.

7) I'm extremely optimistic that Fiala is the real deal.                                                                                                             8)That JEE is fast becoming an elite shutdown center (plus 7 against the opposition's

 best players on a team that is collectively in the minus column.) with the capability of averaging 40 plus points per season

9) I'm cautiously optimistic that Donato and Greenway are slowly turning the corner towards viability, whether with the Wild or as trade pieces.

10) I'm hopeful the Wild will take advantage of a deep draft with their two first round picks. (with the possibility of a summer trade adding a third)

 

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by 4Check
addition