
Through 33 games this season, Matt Boldy has 26 points. (Getty Images)
Matthew Boldy was 8 years old and playing on a travel baseball team for 9-year-olds.
It was late on a chilly March day and the youngster who was pitching for Boldy’s team couldn’t find the plate because his fingers were too cold.
“I say, ‘Matty, have you ever pitched before?’ He goes, ‘Nope.’ I say, ‘How’d you like to give it a try?’ ” recalled Tom Bourque, who managed the team and coached Boldy (Millis, Mass.) in youth hockey with the Woonsocket North Stars and the 2001 Providence Capitals.
So Boldy — who is now blossoming into a star for the Minnesota Wild — took the mound. Years later, Bourque is still amazed by what happened.