Thanks to the success we saw from Dylan Holloway and Cam Fowler, to name a couple of players who completed Year 1 with the Blues, Zack Bolduc got lost in the shuffle. Still, he finished seventh on the team with 36 points and 19 goals across 72 regular-season games with a strong plus-20 rating.
Bolduc only logged 12:48 of average total ice time in those 72 contests, but he proved to be yet another physical player on a St. Louis Blues team that logged 24.5 hits per game. So, be prepared to see Bolduc evolve into a greater role next season, as, if he can log a half-point per game with under 13 minutes of ice time, on average, what’s he capable of?
But these basic stats are just the tip of a larger iceberg. Going into his possession metrics, Bolduc was on the ice for 41 goals when the Blues were at even strength. He also saw just 21 pucks go into his team’s net, and the Blues logged a 93.0 save percentage when he was on the ice at even strength.
Blues winger Zack Bolduc quietly enjoyed a successful season
Grade: A-minus - Zack Bolduc made all the leaps and bounds you could expect from a lower-liner. His production waned in the playoffs, but other than that, he was more than a solid contributor.
Bolduc’s success didn’t go unnoticed, and he pitched in on the power play, logging nearly 94 minutes on the man advantage and scoring seven times when the Blues were at 5-on-4. Expect his power-play minutes to increase next season, given the way he helped put life into the man advantage when it was stagnant for the Blues all year round.
While Bolduc looked great in the regular season for a player in his first full campaign with the club, he wasn’t as effective in the playoffs, logging just an assist and a minus-1 in seven games. Still, Bolduc kept up with the physicality, landing 19 body checks. He wasn’t afraid to scuffle and go to bat for teammates, so I give him a lot of credit there.
When the Blues start making annual trips back to the postseason, expect Bolduc’s productivity to improve when the stakes rise. Still, it shouldn’t take away from a successful season, and one that should have solidified his status as part of a Blues core that’s only gotten younger.
Speaking of that aging-in-reverse core...
In a previous article, I talked about how Dalibor Dvorsky and Jimmy Snuggerud could join that core next season alongside Bolduc and Company. But the Blues also have Jake Neighbours, Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, Joel Hofer, Alexey Toropchenko (underrated, but someone I’d want in town), Robert Thomas, and Jordan Kyrou, all of whom were in their age-26-and-under season.
And for this team to make the playoffs with so many youngsters who should be in Arch City for a while, that’s more than intriguing. Yeah, they’ll still have obstacles, but this team’s only going to get better as time passes, especially when they’re well-coached under Jim Montgomery.
Zack Bolduc's projections for 2025-26
Bolduc may not see more than middle-six minutes next season, given the sheer young talent in town, plus seasoned veteran players like Brayden Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich. So, I’d likely log him between 13:30 and 14:30 of average total ice time next season. That said, I can also see him threatening the 50-point range while keeping up with a high-intensity style.