TORONTO -- To understand a significant reason why Matt Boldy beat out some more familiar players for a spot on Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off, take a look at the scoring leaders from the 2024 IIHF World Championship this past spring.
There, at the top of the list, ahead of NHL stars like Brady Tkachuk, Erik Karlsson, Roman Josi and the late Johnny Gaudreau, you’ll find the Minnesota Wild forward, whose 14 points (six goals, eight assists) were more than anyone in the tournament.
It was, in the words of Team USA general manager Bill Guerin, the 23-year-old’s “breakout moment.”
To outshine so many better-known players, all while wearing the red, white and blue, made Boldy a legitimate candidate for a spot that didn’t seem realistic when last season ended.
“As we kept narrowing down the names last fall, his name stayed on the list,” said Guerin, who is also Boldy’s GM with the Wild. “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.’’’
They couldn’t.
Because they felt the same way.
“It’s not just from what he did at the Worlds,” Guerin said. “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.”
There was no shortage of questions for Guerin and the Team USA hierarchy when the full roster was revealed on Dec. 4 for the 4 Nations Face-Off, which starts in Montreal on Wednesday with teams from the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland. They will compete in a three-game round-robin format leading up to a championship game on Feb. 20 in Boston.
Most of those queries involved the omission of certain high-profile performers like forwards Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres and Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens. Through it all, Guerin and Team USA stuck with their belief in Boldy.