Minnesota Wild activates Matt Boldy, assigns forward to Iowa

Matt Boldy, one of the Minnesota Wild’s top prospects,  is back on the ice after being sidelined with an injury during training camp  that ended his hope  for an NHL roster spot.

The forward who was selected 12th overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, was activated from the franchise’s injured non-roster list on Wednesday and assigned to the Iowa Wild.

Boldy suffered a fractured left ankle in an exhibition game against Chicago.

“Disappointing, clearly,” Wild coach Dean Evason said at the time. “He’s had a wonderful camp but if he’s going to be here or not be here, it’s still clearly disappointing.  He’ll recover. He’s young and heal up and we’ll get him going in his pro career.”

Boldy’s season debut could be just days away. Iowa hosts Tucson on Friday. The Iowa Wild enter the game with a 7-3-1 record.

Boldy had six goals and 18 points in 14 games with the Iowa Wild last season after a collegiate season with Boston College. He had 20 goals and 57 points in 56 career games with the Boldy was  a Hobey Baker Award finalist last year in a season in which he led Boston College in scoring, goals, assists and shots on net.

He also recorded five goals and  seven points to help the United States win the gold medal at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship. He tied for the team lead in goals and finished fourth in scoring overall.

The 20-year-old  was part of a team skate the morning of Game 6 of the Wild’s first-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights and also went through pregame warm-ups. However, in the end, the Wild went with experience over Boldy..

“(Wild managment members)  were making decisions that were best for the team at that point.” Boldy said in a media availability session at the time. “It’s something that you look at and you take from it. It definitely pushes you.”