Introduction

Zachary Bolduc is the newest addition to the Montreal Canadiens, acquired for Logan Mailloux in July in a one-for-one swap. The 17th overall pick by the Blues in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft has completed his second professional season, and his first full-time campaign in the NHL.

He came through the QMJHL system, playing primarily for the Quebec Remparts where he was a prolific goal-scorer, recording two 50-goal seasons. He got into NHL games with the St. Louis Blues for the final portion of his first season as a professional, netting five goals in 25 games despite only having eight in twice as many contests at the AHL level.

Last year with the Blues, in his true rookie season, he ended up scoring 19 goals and adding 17 assists in 72 games played. All of those goals were scored after a coaching change that saw St. Louis bring in Jim Montgomery shortly after he was fired by the Boston Bruins. Bolduc’s 19 goals in the final 56 games project to about a 28-goal pace over an entire 82-game schedule. He did all of that while only averaging 12:48 of ice time per game.

Voting

It was a fairly tight spread of votes, with the majority placing Bolduc in the range from seventh to nine, with a couple of placements two spots outside that span at each end. It is nearly a universal agreement that he belongs in the top 10.

The community vote was quite similar to our panel vote, though the main range was shifted one place forward from sixth to eighth.

Top 25 Under 25 History

This is Bolduc’s first year in our Top 25 Under 25 and he comes in and cracks the top 10 right away. He has two more years of eligibility in the series.

History of #8

Year
#8

2025
Zachary Bolduc

2024
Alex Newhook

2023
Alex Newhook

2022
Sean Farrell

2021
Jesse Ylönen

2020
Kaiden Guhle

2019
Artturi Lehkonen

2018
Nikita Scherbak

2017
Juulsen/Scherbak (T-7)

2016
Charles Hudon

2015
Sven Andrighetto

2014
Sven Andrighetto

2013
Sebastian Collberg

2012
Jarred Tinordi

2011
Yannick Weber

2010
Alexander Avtsin

Strengths

Bolduc has been talked about in a certain way ever since he was acquired. He’s a physical, high-compete goal-scorer, a prototypical scoring winger who slots into the middle six of a lineup. He can generate a great deal of power on his release with a solid shot technique.

The most important thing is where he is shooting. Like the best shooters in the NHL, he aims to place his shots just above the pad where goalies have a difficult time dropping their hands in time to make the save. He possesses the goal-scoring touch to be a consistent 25- to 30-goal-scorer.

Zachary Bolduc, acquired by MTL, is a young high-motor who scored efficiently and forechecked hard for the Blues this season. Scored 19 goals in fourth line minutes. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/PTfQODRFtA

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 1, 2025

He is a player confident in his offensive skills. When he’s on his game he can be seen carrying pucks in transition to lead the rush, executing quick give-and-goes at a high level, and using his high-end shot to put goals on the board. Even on a fairly decent Blues team, especially once Montgomery took over, his metrics were quite solid.

His physicality is also excellent now that he’s made an effort to add that element to his game. While he stands at 6’1″ and 190 pounds, he still has room to add some mass and be even more effective in board battles and on the forecheck.

Weaknesses

Younger players, and ones learning on the fly how to play a more physical type of game, tend to lack consistency. He is clearly making progress on that aspect, and the new adrenaline and coach bump truly helped him unlock something last year. The question is whether he can pick up at the same level he finished at to end last season.

He is primarily known for being a goal-scorer, and that dates back to his year in the QMJHL where in his last two years he scored 105 goals in 125 games. Passing could very well be a skill that would require a bit more attention, as it is an underdeveloped aspect of his game. He has good hands, but to get the most out of his forechecking game he will need to be able to set his linemates up as well.

Projection

The expectations for Bolduc in 2025-26 are going to be high. He comes in advertised as a goal-scoring, physical presence who forechecks hard and has excellent skating ability. He showed he could do all of those things last season, but we’ll have to see how he begins his time in Montreal.

He’s a versatile player who doesn’t have any significant faults, and could be used in any situation on the ice with his full complement of talents. In the right environment, and with the right players, he could become somewhere in the realm of a 25-goal, 50-point player. Unlike a few of the other established veterans in Montreal, that offensive talent doesn’t need to be sheltered from top opposition or limited to the easiest deployments.

If he can simply be the same player he was last season, Montreal has a very effective player who could play on just about any line. If he grows him game even further, he has the potential to become a complete second-line player who adds his name to what is already a solid young core in Montreal.