Bolduc can really dictate the pace of the play and dissect defenses thanks to his incredible hockey mind. This all starts with his tremendous poise, which allows him to see plays develop with confidence and keeps his cool in pressured situations. He never seems to be in a rush and maintains fluidity despite facing pressure. In spite of his reputation as a sniper, Bolduc loves to break down defenses to find ways to setup teammates. In odd man situations, he enjoys getting creative and stays patient for that passing lane to open up. Overall however, his offensive tools are still raw and fairly clunky. Bolduc doesn’t possess highlight reel puck skills, but he does show an ability to get on pucks quickly. In his skating, his stance is excellent, perfectly leaned over to generate speed, and his arms are more focused on north-south movement rather than creating havoc with east-west motion. He makes big, powerful pushes on his strides, but does take a bit more time to pass from his outside to inside edge. This means that between each stride, there’s a few milliseconds lost before he can propel himself, which could be fixed with a slightly wider stride. Bolduc still shows above average top-end speed overall. He possesses a great presence of mind to read and process developing plays as a defender. He’ll often get on the backcheck to neutralize what could have been odd man rushes and keeps splendid positioning in his own zone. Bolduc owns a fantastic skillset as well to battle off in corner plays. He uses his skates, stick and upper-body strength to his advantage, outsmarting stronger opponents. His play along the boards leads to considerable puck battle wins and defensive recovery for him or his partners. In addition, he displays an outstanding compete level on the puck pursuit. He can be pretty relentless on the puck hunt, shadowing the puck carrier with constant stick-lift and bumps. The main thing Bolduc will need to work on, is consistency throughout the game. He can sometimes become very passive at the end of shifts, gliding without much intentions. He might be trying to pace himself, since he does play big minutes, but if he could keep his high tempo all game, we’re looking at a constant offensive and defensive dynamo.

– FCHockey’s 2021 NHL Draft Guide