Zach Bogosian has played with a \u201cwho\u2019s who\u201d of superstar forwards during his 18-year NHL career.<\/p>\n
Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. Jack Eichel. Kirill Kaprizov, of course.<\/p>\n
Watching 24-year-old Matt Boldy this season, Bogosian, the Minnesota Wild defenseman, said he thinks the winger is not far off from that elite tier.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s up there,\u201d Bogosian said. \u201cWhen you have elite skill, the way he thinks the game \u2014 everyone who watches him every day would see this, but I don\u2019t know how many people realize how hard he works and how competitive he is, the tenacity, the resilience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have that on top of elite skill and the way he can play, that makes for a dangerous threat every night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thursday was the latest example, with Boldy having his fingerprints all over the Wild\u2019s 5-2 win<\/a> over the Dallas Stars at Grand Casino Arena.<\/p>\n Whether he was single-handedly making a play happen on Joel Eriksson Ek\u2019s goal or his slick saucer feed on Marcus Johansson\u2019s game-winner, there was no denying him. Boldy\u2019s empty-netter helped seal the win over one of the NHL\u2019s top teams.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a big difference-maker in so many different facets,\u201d coach John Hynes said. \u201cAnd we needed him.\u201d<\/p>\n right at his front door \ud83d\udeaa pic.twitter.com\/vZmq89nZTa<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The Wild\u2019s season has been a roller coaster, from a rocky October to a remarkable November, but Boldy has been the one constant. In almost every game, he has been \u201con.\u201d<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just offensively, where Boldy has 17 goals and 35 points in 31 games \u2014 one more point than Kaprizov for the team lead. Boldy has faced some of the toughest matchups in the league, playing alongside shutdown center Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson. He\u2019s played a key role on the penalty kill, sparking the unit\u2019s turnaround.<\/p>\n Kaprizov, soon to be the league\u2019s highest-paid player, has often been considered the Wild\u2019s \u201cengine\u201d by teammates. And that\u2019s still the case on many occasions. Kaprizov was dynamic again on Thursday, including setting up Boldy\u2019s empty-netter. He\u2019s a true superstar.<\/a> However, it sure feels like Boldy is playing like an engine, too.<\/p>\n \u201cHe just continues to grow,\u201d Hynes said. \u201cHe\u2019s such a talented kid. But you\u2019re starting to see the consistency and the reliability in his game and understanding how he can help a team win on the scoresheet, off the scoresheet. And he\u2019s becoming a regular driver every night. And how we want to play, playing to his strengths and not being deterred sometimes, whether he gets opportunities, and they don\u2019t go in.<\/p>\n \u201cThe consistency level that he\u2019s played with this year, and you could see it starting to build, I\u2019d say over the last year or two here now, I think he\u2019s a guy that he\u2019s ready to go every night, and he has the ability to be a game-changer on a nightly basis.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou tell me. What wingers are better than him?\u201d<\/p>\n On the maturation of Matt Boldy, the impact of 4 Nations on him and why some say #mnwild<\/a> winger\u2019s ceiling is being a \u201csuperstar.\u201dhttps:\/\/t.co\/L4LvzmIrVR<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) October 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Boldy talked earlier this season about his goal of being the best player on the ice. And he\u2019s shown it, evolving from a gifted offensive player into a leader who\u2019s playing winning hockey every night. The 6-foot-2, 201-pound winger sets an example.<\/p>\n When the Wild had their season-turning players-only meeting<\/a>, called by captain Jared Spurgeon after their October swoop, Boldy was among those who spoke up.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one was happy with how October went,\u201d Boldy said. \u201cSometimes that lights a fire in you, and you know, you gotta look yourself in the mirror and find ways to be better. I think everyone in this locker room has done that. Everyone\u2019s having an impact on the game. Whether it\u2019s winning puck battles, blocking shots, scoring goals, making plays, everything.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not easy. These teams are so good. That team (the Stars) is so good from top to bottom. So yeah, it\u2019s exciting. You want to have the competition. You want to play in close games \u2014 make an impact, have the puck and be out there.\u201d<\/p>\n The results are in his advanced metrics, too. According to Game Score<\/a>, a comprehensive single-number stat that evaluates a player\u2019s all-around performance, his 1.48 average ranks 11th among forwards (14th overall). His plus-7.9 net rating (The Athletic\u2019s Dom Luszczyszyn\u2019s catch-all stat<\/a>), he is ninth among forwards and first on the Wild.<\/p>\n PlayerGPOffDefNet<\/p>\n 31<\/p>\n 14.4<\/p>\n 0.9<\/p>\n 15.3<\/p>\n 32<\/p>\n 8.5<\/p>\n 1.6<\/p>\n 10.2<\/p>\n 31<\/p>\n 9.5<\/p>\n 0.6<\/p>\n 10.1<\/p>\n 30<\/p>\n 8.4<\/p>\n 0.9<\/p>\n 9.4<\/p>\n 30<\/p>\n 8.0<\/p>\n 1.3<\/p>\n 9.3<\/p>\n 31<\/p>\n 7.1<\/p>\n 1.9<\/p>\n 9.0<\/p>\n 31<\/p>\n 8.9<\/p>\n -0.5<\/p>\n 8.4<\/p>\n 31<\/p>\n 6.6<\/p>\n 1.5<\/p>\n 8.2<\/p>\n 31<\/p>\n 6.9<\/p>\n 1.0<\/p>\n 7.9<\/p>\n 32<\/p>\n 6.3<\/p>\n 1.6<\/p>\n 7.8<\/p>\n Boldy was Thursday\u2019s No. 1 star and was given the player of the game hat by Yakov Trenin. It was another night showing what Bogosian calls his unique blend of will and skill.<\/p>\n \u201cNine times out of 10, when he goes into the corner, he\u2019s coming out with the puck,\u201d Bogosian said. \u201cJust his will, his determination, his competitiveness. When he\u2019s going, it\u2019s really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if there\u2019s any player Boldy reminds Bogosian of that he\u2019s played with, he said it\u2019s difficult because they\u2019re all different. He brought up Eichel, but they have different styles and positions.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve played with anyone that big and strong and has that much skill,\u201d Bogosian said. \u201cJack is a different skater. But just that big body that can be that strong and that skilled is a special threat.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt Boldy with his second career hat trick today. I remember talking with his coach at USNDP for a profile on him and the comparison w\/ teammates Jack Hughes, Trevor Zegras, Cole Caufield came up. \u201cSomeday, he might be more valuable.\u201d #mnwild<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/FH5O414A5y<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Mqz8412xlc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) March 19, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n