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OCTOBER 2023 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 35 FAMILY — AND MULTIPLE SPORTS — FIRST Boldy immediately points to his family for always keeping him grounded. There's mom and dad, Todd and Jennifer, big brother Mike, younger brother James, and younger sister Mara. "We had a typical brother relationship," recalled Mike, who is four years older than Matt. "He always tried to keep up with me playing sports and everything. Obviously, he excelled in some aspects, but I'm so proud of him." Athletics were certainly a part of the Boldy household. Todd played football at the University of Maine, and while not a hockey player himself, he had Matt on skates by 2-and-a-half. His brother noticed Matt took to the sport instantly. "His first year of elite hockey, he scored like a hat trick or some- thing and I remember just being dumbfounded," said Mike, a former left wing himself. "Compared to everyone else, he was absolutely dominating." It wasn't only hockey. For Boldy, it was also baseball, lacrosse and golf. Playing other sports wasn't about building himself up athletically for hockey—or whichever sport his younger self might have been inclined to pursue—but instead it was about removing himself from a respective sport's season. "I was always a pretty active kid," he said. "It's so nice, especially right after the season, to kind of decompress and let your body get back to normal and relax. It's whatever works for you. You just got to get away from it. "Putting the hockey bag a w a y a n d t e a r i n g u p a different sport or just taking that time off goes a long way." When it did come to hockey, his family was there to support him the entire way, even with fate playing a lucky hand for the family. Matt's first NHL game was against his home- town Boston Bruins—just a one- hour drive away for his parents. "That's something I will never forget in my entire life," Boldy said of his family being there to witness his first career goal, too. "Family is always something that will be important to me. I want to share all that I can with them. It was a pretty special moment for all of us." FIRE LIT AND MEDALS WON In 2017, the 17-year-old quickly packed up his things and headed to Plymouth, Mich., to join the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. In his first year, Boldy led the Under-17 squad in assists (47) and points (76) and helped Team USA win the World U17 Challenge. He bested himself the following year with 33 goals and 81 points. It earned Boldy a first-round nod at the NHL Draft that summer, and he went into his fresh- man season at BC more eager than ever. Matt Boldy added a bonus to his athletic resume this past August with a Winmark sponsor exemption to play in the PGA Canada CRMC Championship in Brainerd, Minnesota. Boldy, who grew up going to the course with his dad and brother, came into the tour with a plus-1.5 handicap, and has been a frequenter of golf courses around Minnesota this summer. He finished his first-round with a score of 79, plus-9 for the day in the field of 156. On day two he was plus-10 with a score of 80. Boldy is used to playing in front of a crowd of more than 18,000 at Xcel Energy Center at any given Wild home game, but the quiet crowd that trailed him through the tour made an impression as well. "I was a lot more nervous today than I've ever been to play a hockey game," Boldy said, "But it was pretty cool to see the fans out here. Hockey and golf kind of go hand in hand a little bit, so there were a lot of fans of both. "You see the little kids and their parents bringing them around, it's pretty cool. But I'm definitely a bigger fan of a team sport." Needless to say, Bill Guerin, the Wild's general manager, won't have to worry about losing Boldy to the PGA Tour anytime soon. "Most definitely not," Boldy said with a laugh. "But it was fun." FORE!