The early departures keep coming for Boston College as Matt Boldy’s signing with the Minnesota Wild became official late Tuesday night.
The sophomore from Millis, Mass., signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Wild, the organization that drafted him in the first round of the 2019 NHL draft. He’ll report immediately to the Iowa Wild, Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, to burn a year off his entry-level deal.
Boldy is a finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given annually to college hockey’s top player. In 22 games for the Eagles this season, Boldy scored 11 goals and 20 assists. That came on top of a freshman campaign where he found the twine nine times and added 17 assists. He was part of USA Hockey’s gold-medal team at the 2021 World Junior Championship this winter, scoring five goals and two assists in seven games.
Boldy played two seasons of prep hockey at Dexter Southfield before joining USA Hockey’s NTDP. His hockey sense is his elite attribute, but his skating has improved over the years. He projects as a power forward who can make plays below the dots and along the wall.
Boldy becomes the second BC player to leave early this offseason, joining classmate Mike Hardman, who signed a free-agent deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. As reported earlier by NEHJ, the Eagles also are at risk of losing centers Alex Newhook and Marc McLaughlin, defenseman Drew Helleson and goaltender Spencer Knight.
UConn’s Yan Kuznetsov turns pro
UConn sophomore defenseman Yan Kuznetsov has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames. The ’02 from Murmansk, Russia, was selected in the second round of the 2020 NHL draft by Calgary after a stellar freshman campaign for the Huskies.
Kuznetsov had a goal and five assists in 16 games this season. In 34 games as a rookie, he compiled two goals and nine assists. Prior to coming to college hockey, Kuznetsov played for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL.
Friars retain two-time captain
On Tuesday, junior defenseman Michael Callahan announced that he will return to Providence for his senior season. NEHJ contributor Mark Divver was the first to report the news.
Callahan, a late ’99 from Franklin, Mass., had three goals and 11 assists this past winter. He scored five goals and 23 assists in 34 games as a sophomore. In total, he has 52 points over his three-year career in a Friars uniform.
Callahan has been a captain for Nate Leaman’s team the past two years and obviously would be expected to wear the ‘C’ again in 2021-22. The former Roxbury Latin standout was selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL draft.
Adams enters transfer portal
Two more Providence players are in the NCAA transfer portal. Jack Adams, a ’97 right wing from Boxford, Mass., has entered. The 2017 sixth-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings appeared in six games for the Friars after transferring in from Union. Also in the transfer portal is forward Abin Nilsson. The two forwards join goaltenders Gabe Mollot-Hill and Anton Martinsson.
