{"id":469499,"date":"2026-02-24T12:21:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T12:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/469499\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T12:21:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T12:21:22","slug":"u-s-s-matt-boldy-shows-on-olympic-stage-what-wild-fans-know-well-hes-an-emerging-superstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/469499\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S.\u2019s Matt Boldy shows on Olympic stage what Wild fans know well: \u2018He\u2019s an emerging superstar\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

MILAN \u2014 In the aftermath of Matt Boldy\u2019s silky-smooth goal for the United States in Sunday\u2019s gold-medal game, it was only fitting that the first person to jump into his arms was Minnesota Wild teammate Brock Faber.<\/p>\n

Boldy called it the No. 1 goal of his career, and he got to celebrate it with his No. 1 friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like every time I do that (celebratory) turn after every goal I score, there\u2019s always Fabes coming at me,\u201d Boldy said. \u201cWhich is pretty special. I mean, to share that moment with one of your best friends, it was awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wild fans have known for some time just how good Boldy is. In fact, the team\u2019s coaching staff and front office think he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it,\u201d Faber said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t 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\u2019s a f\u2014ing stud, and that\u2019s what he does. These big games, he\u2019s 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\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Brock<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Brock Faber celebrates with U.S. and Wild teammate Matt Boldy after Boldy\u2019s goal Sunday. (Bruce Bennett \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Critics said Guerin was only taking him because he played for the Wild.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatt\u2019s an elite player,\u201d Guerin said before the Olympics. \u201cHe keeps getting better and better every year. And I think something like the 4 Nations definitely, from a fan\u2019s perspective, got him more notoriety, and people started to see how good he really was, not just in our market \u2014 but hey, this is the Olympics; this is the world stage. This is where people can make their mark.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boldy played on the United States\u2019 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\u2019 18-for-18 penalty kill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had an idea that he was an emerging star in this league,\u201d U.S. and New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan said. \u201cAnd obviously, Billy knows him way better than I do, as does (Wild head coach and U.S. assistant John Hynes). And what I\u2019ll 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a 200-foot player. He\u2019s got a mature game for a young, emerging star. I think this year, his game is at another level. That\u2019s been my observation of watching him in the short time that we\u2019ve been here, relative to, say, the 4 Nations. So he\u2019s clearly getting better with every game he gets under his belt, every practice he gets under his belt. He\u2019s still a young guy, and he\u2019s emerging. He\u2019s an emerging superstar in the NHL, and he\u2019s one of our very best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boldy got to spend time with his mom, dad, stepmom and brother in Milan. His dad, Todd, was even interviewed in a \u201cman on the street\u201d video. The interviewer, Tim Kalinowski, had no idea he was Boldy\u2019s dad.<\/p>\n

Todd Boldy said during the interview that he was a Minnesota Wild fan and was asked if he\u2019d rather have a Wild Stanley Cup or a U.S. gold. \u201cMy son plays for both, so I want them both,\u201d he responded.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hilarious,\u201d Matt Boldy said. \u201cMy dad\u2019s not a super outgoing guy, so the guy must have really been caught by surprise. It was a funny outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

.@TimmyKal12<\/a> had no idea he was talking to Matt Boldy\u2019s Dad \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\udd25 pic.twitter.com\/VLCrkLPkkX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Snapback Sports (@snapbacksports) February 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Boldy, 24, played for the U.S. National Team Development Program for John Wroblewski, the coach who just guided the U.S. women\u2019s team to gold over Canada.<\/p>\n

When the Wild selected Boldy at No. 12 in 2019, Wroblewski told The Athletic, \u201cMinnesota got a steal. He had first overall potential. The way that he plays the game is different than any other player I\u2019ve ever seen. The puck is glued to him, and then he gets into the offensive zone, and then the magic happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early in the Olympics, Wroblewski was reminded of that quote.<\/p>\n

\u201cTold ya,\u201d Wroblewski told The Athletic. \u201cWe 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\u2019t even close in terms of the hype. But you could tell that there was something very special \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook where he is now. He\u2019s 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\u2019s doing the same type of things now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wroblewski then predicted that Boldy would score a big goal or two in the tournament. Right again.<\/p>\n

Did his U.S. teammates know he was this good?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was eye-opening for me last year,\u201d New York Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck said. \u201cWasn\u2019t as familiar with him before that 4 Nations tournament. I think he came into that tournament and was one of our best players. We\u2019ve played against (the Wild) a couple times since then, and you notice him more and more every day. He\u2019s 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\u2019s a lot to like about Bolds.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now he\u2019s a gold-medal winner again after winning gold at the 2021 World Juniors and World Under-17s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d Boldy said. \u201cI can\u2019t even put it into words. I think it\u2019s so special to have this medal around our necks. We knew how long it\u2019s been. There haven\u2019t been many American men\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n