MONTREAL — Other than the occasional times he’s coached against him, Mike Sullivan didn’t know Matt Boldy.
Sullivan, the Penguins coach who is leading Team USA at the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, was curious. How Boldy, the 23-year-old winger from the Minnesota Wild, assert himself among his older and more accomplished teammates when this American elite squad came together?
“One of the things that’s impressed me is that he has a quiet confidence about him,” Sullivan said. “He belongs and he knows it. It’s very easy in these environments for a young player to get intimidated. He’s not.”
Boldy is one of a handful of under-25 American players competing in the event. The native of Millis, a tiny Massachusetts town of less than 10,000 people that’s just south of Framingham, wasn’t a lock when this tournament was announced a year ago.
But Boldy has earned his spot. He’s second on the Minnesota Wild in scoring with 20 goals and 28 assists. At 6-foot-2, 209 pounds, he’s a heavy forechecker with considerable skills.
The 4 Nations Face-Off has been celebrated as a true return to best-on-best hockey for the first time in 10 years. This year and the 2026 Olympics in Italy might be the last times some of the greats of the sport play internationally.
But it’s also a coming-out party for some of the league’s young stars —including Boldy.
After being selected 12th overall in the 2019 draft, he shined at Boston College for two years. He spent just 24 games in the AHL — 14 to finish 2021 after turning pro, 10 to start 2021-22 — before being called up to the Wild and he hasn’t looked back
Following three strong seasons to begin his NHL career, Boldy raised his esteem with USA Hockey last summer. The 2024 IIHF World Championships in Czechia featured rosters of European professionals and NHL players out of the playoffs and AHL or college players.
Matt Boldy of United States in action during the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic. (Photo by PressFocus/MB Media/Getty Images)Getty Images
On an American roster that featured Johnny Gaudreau, Brady Tkachuk and Brock Nelson, it was Boldy who led not only the Americans but the entire tournament in scoring with 14 points (6 goals and 8 assists in eight games).
Bill Guerin, who is the general manager of both the Wild and Team USA’s 4 Nations team, told NHL.com he held Boldy to a higher standard to convince himself that he wasn’t biased in favor of his own guy.
“As we kept narrowing down the names last fall, his name stayed on the list,” Guerin said. “At one point I said to my (Team USA) staff: ‘I’m not just doing this because he plays on my NHL team. Watch him and tell me I’m wrong.’ It’s not just from what he did at the Worlds, but to see him emerge, to see him embrace the opportunity to represent his country and take the next step while donning our jersey, that’s impressive.”
He’ll don the USA jersey again on Thursday. But this will be the first time doing so in a best-vs.-best event. It speaks to how far he’s come at 23, but it’s also an opportunity to accelerate the next steps of his development.
Getting a chance to play on a team of this caliber can be especially valuable to his development.
“It’s invaluable to have an opportunity to experience a tournament like this as a young player with some of the most accomplished players in the game,” Sullivan said. “When you have the opportunity to spend time both on the ice and off the ice with these guys you get an opportunity to watch how they do things. How they go about their business. These guys are not as good as they are by accident. There’s a lot of work that goes into it.”
Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy plays against the Nashville Predators during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)AP
He’s intent on taking advantage.
“It’s pretty special. You look around and see the guys out there. You’re in awe,” Boldy said. “To be with these guys is pretty cool. … When you have all of this around you, you’ve got to take advantage of it and pick everyone’s brain. Just being around these guys and the respect I have for them, I just try to learn as much as I can.”
Boldy will start the event on a line with J.T. Miller and Brady Tkachuk, giving the Americans a physical line with some scoring pop. Boldy has impressed his linemates in their short stint together.
“We’re learning from him too. He’s a very special player,” Miller said. “What he’s accomplished in the league so far as a young guy has been pretty impressive.”
Tkachuk agreed.
“I think he already is a star,” Tkachuk said. “He’s such a great player. He can play so many different types of games. That’s what makes him so valuable and so versatile. I’m really excited to play with him.”
This could be the first of many games in red, white and blue for the kid from Millis. Before the tournament began, the NHL and its players association announced plans for best-on-best international competitions to be held every two years through 2030 (Olympics in 2026 and 2030, and a revived World Cup in 2028), with the hope to extend them well beyond that.
Boldy wants in. He’s hoping to be the type of player future stars can look to when future USA teams are assembled.
“You don’t dream of being an average hockey player,” Boldy said. “You dream of being the best. You push yourself to achieve your goals and be the best player you can. That’s something everyone would want to be a part of.”
