MILAN — In the aftermath of Matt Boldy’s silky-smooth goal for the United States in Sunday’s gold-medal game, it was only fitting that the first person to jump into his arms was Minnesota Wild teammate Brock Faber.
Boldy called it the No. 1 goal of his career, and he got to celebrate it with his No. 1 friend.
“I feel like every time I do that (celebratory) turn after every goal I score, there’s always Fabes coming at me,” Boldy said. “Which is pretty special. I mean, to share that moment with one of your best friends, it was awesome.”
Wild fans have known for some time just how good Boldy is. In fact, the team’s coaching staff and front office think he’s every bit as good and as important as superstar Kirill Kaprizov. His 32 goals this season are the most of any U.S. Olympian, and his 62 points are second only to Jack Eichel among Americans.
Anyone less familiar with his NHL success got a quick education when he saucered a pass to himself, splitting defensemen Cale Makar and Devon Toews to score the game-opening goal six minutes in.
“I love it,” Faber said. “He doesn’t get all the attention, and he just gets to do what he does quietly on a nightly basis. Everyone within the (Wild) organization knows how good he is and has the utmost confidence in him. And he’s a f—ing stud, and that’s what he does. These big games, he’s there. You want him on the ice, and he wants to be on the ice. He wants the puck on his stick. He has that much confidence in how good he is. We all know (in Minnesota) he’s incredible.”
Brock Faber celebrates with U.S. and Wild teammate Matt Boldy after Boldy’s goal Sunday. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Last year in the lead-up to the 4 Nations Face-Off, general manager Bill Guerin took some grief publicly for choosing Boldy over the likes of Jason Robertson and Cole Caufield. Tage Thompson and Clayton Keller, who did make the Olympic team, were left off that 4 Nations roster, too.
Critics said Guerin was only taking him because he played for the Wild.
“Matt’s an elite player,” Guerin said before the Olympics. “He keeps getting better and better every year. And I think something like the 4 Nations definitely, from a fan’s perspective, got him more notoriety, and people started to see how good he really was, not just in our market — but hey, this is the Olympics; this is the world stage. This is where people can make their mark.”
Boldy played on the United States’ top line throughout the tournament, alongside Auston Matthews and Jake Guentzel. Normally on top power play in Minnesota, he accepted his No. 2 power-play role. He was also part of the United States’ 18-for-18 penalty kill.
“I had an idea that he was an emerging star in this league,” U.S. and New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan said. “And obviously, Billy knows him way better than I do, as does (Wild head coach and U.S. assistant John Hynes). And what I’ll tell you is that when you have an opportunity to see him up close and work with him every day, you gain another level of appreciation for how good he is. You know, just the subtleties of his game. He protects pucks extremely well. He’s strong on the wall. And for a guy that has the offensive game that he does, I think he has a defensive game to match it.
“He’s a 200-foot player. He’s got a mature game for a young, emerging star. I think this year, his game is at another level. That’s been my observation of watching him in the short time that we’ve been here, relative to, say, the 4 Nations. So he’s clearly getting better with every game he gets under his belt, every practice he gets under his belt. He’s still a young guy, and he’s emerging. He’s an emerging superstar in the NHL, and he’s one of our very best.”
Boldy got to spend time with his mom, dad, stepmom and brother in Milan. His dad, Todd, was even interviewed in a “man on the street” video. The interviewer, Tim Kalinowski, had no idea he was Boldy’s dad.
Todd Boldy said during the interview that he was a Minnesota Wild fan and was asked if he’d rather have a Wild Stanley Cup or a U.S. gold. “My son plays for both, so I want them both,” he responded.
“It was hilarious,” Matt Boldy said. “My dad’s not a super outgoing guy, so the guy must have really been caught by surprise. It was a funny outcome.”
.@TimmyKal12 had no idea he was talking to Matt Boldy’s Dad 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/VLCrkLPkkX
— Snapback Sports (@snapbacksports) February 12, 2026
Boldy, 24, played for the U.S. National Team Development Program for John Wroblewski, the coach who just guided the U.S. women’s team to gold over Canada.
When the Wild selected Boldy at No. 12 in 2019, Wroblewski told The Athletic, “Minnesota got a steal. He had first overall potential. The way that he plays the game is different than any other player I’ve ever seen. The puck is glued to him, and then he gets into the offensive zone, and then the magic happens.”
Early in the Olympics, Wroblewski was reminded of that quote.
“Told ya,” Wroblewski told The Athletic. “We were super high on him when he got selected to the NTDP, but he was not in the (Jack) Hughes, (Trevor Zegras) and (Alex) Turcotte stratosphere at that time. Wasn’t even close in terms of the hype. But you could tell that there was something very special — that if a couple things went right, that he was going to be a big-time player. And then a couple things did go right, not to mention the 4 inches and 70 pounds he added.
“Look where he is now. He’s got the same young face and the same moves. He still does the same puck-protecting stuff. He was doing that stuff when he was 15, 16 years old. It was on a different scale than everybody else then, and he’s doing the same type of things now.”
Wroblewski then predicted that Boldy would score a big goal or two in the tournament. Right again.
Did his U.S. teammates know he was this good?
“It was eye-opening for me last year,” New York Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck said. “Wasn’t as familiar with him before that 4 Nations tournament. I think he came into that tournament and was one of our best players. We’ve played against (the Wild) a couple times since then, and you notice him more and more every day. He’s one of our best players. He just does all the little things so well. Great shot, skates well. He plays well defensively. Just a great tournament. There’s a lot to like about Bolds.”
And now he’s a gold-medal winner again after winning gold at the 2021 World Juniors and World Under-17s.
“It’s unbelievable,” Boldy said. “I can’t even put it into words. I think it’s so special to have this medal around our necks. We knew how long it’s been. There haven’t been many American men’s ice hockey players that have had this medal around their necks, so to be a part of that group is something that everyone in our locker room wanted to do.”