The distinctive sound of Zachary Bolduc’s stick slapping the ice was heard throughout the recent Blues prospects camp.
“Whack! … Whack! Whack!”
That’s the universal hockey signal indicating: “I’m open. Pass me the puck.”
It happened maybe a dozen times or more over the four-day development camp at Centene Community Ice Center.
Yes, Bolduc is a confident player with some swagger. Wouldn’t you be confident after scoring 63 goals over 77 games in one hockey season?
“You know what, I think that comes with every goal scorer,” said Tim Taylor, the Blues’ director of player personnel. “They have that swagger because they believe in themselves, right? They believe they can score goals. They believe that they’re real good hockey players. So that didn’t come from all of a sudden having 60-some goals this year. That comes from just his personality and who he is.”
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Bolduc, 19 and a native of Trois Rivieres, Quebec, had one of the best 2021-22 seasons in all of junior hockey. In the regular season, his 55 goals for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League was tied for second-best in all of junior hockey.
Only William Dufour of the St. John Sea Dogs, also of the QMJHL, had more (56).
If you include regular-season, plus playoff goals, Bolduc’s 63 total is second to Patrick Guay of the Charlottetown Islanders — again from the Quebec League (68).
By all of junior hockey — we’re talking 60 teams combined in the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and Quebec League. If you toss in the Tier 1 United States Hockey League, it’s 76 teams total. That’s a lot of players and a lot of NHL draft picks.
So Bolduc put together quite a hockey season, one that has the Blues debating whether it’s him or Jake Neighbours as the organization’s top prospect.
“I had a pretty good season,” Bolduc said in understatement. “I’ll be honest, we had also a really good team. My linemates really helped me through that year. I don’t think it’s a one-man show.”
The Remparts went 51-15-2 in the regular season for 104 points, the most in the 18-team QMJHL. In the playoffs, the Remparts won their first two series then were ousted…
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