Matt Boldy becomes a scoring leader as Wild enter the NHL playoffs

Matt Boldy never considered becoming anything other than a hockey player.

Nothing else.

When he had to declare a major at Boston College, he was at a loss. His parents could never pry a stick out of his hands when he was little, Boldy moving around pucks and tennis balls and maneuvering on the driveway.

All he wanted was to play hockey.

"That's been my goal my whole life," Boldy said.

Why he turned his dream into reality has been on display since he joined the Wild.

After a storybook start to his NHL career, Boldy finished his first season as-advertised, the first-round pick a dual-threat winger as passer and finisher. But he was even more impressive in Year 2.

Boldy will go into Game 1 of a first-round playoff series at Dallas on Monday as one of the league's top goal scorers over the last month-plus, a torrid tear that offset the absence of Kirill Kaprizov to injury and helped the Wild advance.

The spotlight will intensify in the playoffs, and never has Boldy ascended that stage with this profile.

But he is confident his performance won't waver, the 22-year-old long unfazed by the pressure that's rooted in a rise like his.

"That's the expectation that I have for myself, for my teammates, everyone," Boldy said. "I obviously want to have that impact, want to keep playing well, want to keep producing and help the team, for sure. That's my mind-set going into it is keep playing my game well all over the ice and let things happen."

The list of players in the ballpark of Boldy's output since the beginning of March looks like an MVP ballot, a who's-who in the NHL.

Only Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon (20), Boston's David Pastrnak (19) and Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl (16) had more goals than Boldy's 15 in that span, which matched Colorado's Mikko Rantanen but eclipsed Edmonton's Connor McDavid (14).

Over his past 20 games, Boldy tallied two hat tricks and two game-winners (including an overtime buzzer-beater) while converting 14 times at even strength (the second most in the league).

He became the youngest in team history to surpass 30 goals, finishing with 31; add in 32 assists for 63 points through 81 games after posting 15-24—39 as a rookie a season ago, and Boldy is the second-fastest player to debut with the Wild to reach 100 points (125 games); only Kaprizov (92 games) was quicker.

But it's the context of his surge that makes the showing even more eye-popping.

During the 13 games the Wild played without Kaprizov while he was out because of a lower-body injury, a stretch in which they went 7-3-3, Boldy's 13 goals spearheaded the offense.

"He's been a big reason, the reason, when Kirill went down why we won a lot of those games," teammate Marcus Foligno said. "It's amazing the way he stepped up."

What's more, this uptick arrived on the heels of a goalless February, a lull that came after Boldy landed a lucrative seven-year, $49 million contract extension in January that will make him one of the highest-paid and the longest-signed player on the team.

"Sometimes it just works out like that, and pucks are constantly finding you, and you're getting five or six shots a night," Boldy said. "It just happens that the puck is finding the net, and I don't even really know the right words to put it all together. But, yeah, it's a pretty good feeling."

Although this was the most dominant Boldy has been in the NHL, thriving at hockey is completely on-brand.

He was a point-per-game player or better with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, at Boston College for two seasons after the Wild drafted him 12th overall in 2019 (Boldy ended up choosing communication as his major, by the way) and when he kicked off his pro career in the American Hockey League.

Boldy also has a flair for making a splash.

Check this out: In his first game with the NTDP, Boldy racked up three points. During his BC debut, he scored. For his Iowa opener, he had a goal and assist.

And who could forget when he started out with the Wild?

In front of family and friends at TD Garden in Boston after growing up in Millis, Mass., Boldy served up the game-winner.

"I don't think I ever feel too much pressure in terms of being at the rink or playing," he said.

When he was 9, after his team won a championship, Boldy wanted to leave for a new squad because he did feel pressure.

His dad Todd told him, "Well, Matt, if you're going to be the man and you want to be the man, you have to learn how to accept that role."

After another season — and another title — with that same team, Boldy did move on but not before he showed he could handle the responsibility.

"He already proved to me exactly what I wanted to help teach him at that age," Todd said.

In that sense, Boldy has been prepped for what's to come.

The Wild have Kaprizov back and, along with Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman, that line will receive prime-time attention.

But so will Boldy, his budding chemistry with Marcus Johansson enabling the Wild to deploy their best offensive players in waves rather than spurts. And being trusted to deliver, that's right up Boldy's alley.

"It comes down to the end of the game and I've never been one to say, 'Keep me off the ice,' " Boldy said. "It's always, 'I want to be out there. I want to have an impact. I don't want to just be a passenger and be on the sidelines.

"It's not pressure. It's more opportunity than anything. You get a chance to go out there and make a difference. In my head, I'd rather have an impact and be able to have a result on the outcome than just sit on the sidelines."

Being in this position in his second NHL season and after turning 22 earlier this month isn't typical, but Boldy's life isn't like everyone else's his age.

Yes, he admits he still feels like a kid.

"I gotta listen to everything my parents say," Boldy said.

At work, though, he's known for his maturity.

"It's just fun to see him play with his confidence," Johansson said. "He's such a good player all over the ice. I feel like he seems to have been playing in the league longer than he has, and that's a really good sign."

That's right: This is Boldy's job, just like he always hoped it would be.

"I can't see him doing anything else because that's what he dedicated himself to," Todd said.

So, pressure in the playoffs?

No way.

To be so sure of your aspiration and then to achieve it, what fun that would be.

"It's everything I've wanted to ever do," Boldy said. "It's a dream come true. Yeah, it's weird that I'm as young as I am. It's what I've always set out to do. It's the situation that I wanted to put myself in. It's everything like that.

"To have it be true, it's hard to sit here and have any complaints at all."