The Montreal Canadiens acquired an exciting second-year forward during the 2025 offseason. Zachary Bolduc was traded from the St. Louis Blues to Montreal in exchange for defensive prospect Logan Mailloux. After a near 20-goal campaign in 2024-25, expectations were high coming in for Bolduc in Montreal. He had a red-hot start to his season, but has since fallen down the lineup and is struggling to make an impact on the scoresheet.
Let’s examine his hot start to the year and what allowed him to be successful. Furthermore, let’s look at how Montreal Canadiens Zach Bolduc can regain success in the short and long-term future.
Montreal Canadiens Zach Bolduc’s Struggles
Zachary Bolduc’s Hot Start to the 2025-26 season
Bolduc had a dream start to his Canadiens tenure. The 22-year-old had three goals and four points in his first three contests for Montreal. His early success can be attributed to his role on the team. He started the year in the top six as well as the Canadiens’ top power play. Montreal’s power play has been electric to start the season, and being on that unit certainly contributed to his hot start. However, rookie Ivan Demidov has been promoted to the top group, and rightfully so after he has posted 12 points in 13 games.
Unfortunately for Bolduc, it doesn’t seem as though Martin St. Louis will be breaking up Montreal’s first unit anytime soon. The second wave still has some talent with Noah Dobson, Alex Newhook, and Kirby Dach featured alongside Bolduc. However, due to the strength of the top group, they often see little ice time. Another reason for his hot start was the fact that he was playing on the second line with Kirby Dach and Brendan Gallagher. Bolduc and Gallagher found some chemistry and connected on some goals early on in the season. However, Dach went down early with an injury and missed several games. This forced a lineup change that found Bolduc on the Canadiens’ fourth line.
Potential Lineup Changes to Help Bolduc
Now that Dach has returned, the trio was reunited on the Canadiens’ second line in their most recent contest against the Philadelphia Flyers. Dach found the back of the net twice, although Bolduc didn’t record a point in the game. Kirby Dach finding his game bodes well for the success of the line as well as Bolduc’s production.
One thing that could also help him regain his scoring touch would be uniting him with Ivan Demidov. Alex Newhook is in the midst of a breakout campaign, which can largely be credited to his playing alongside Demidov. Their rookie centreman, Oliver Kapanen, is also having a solid start to his year. However, there is some intrigue in potentially uniting Bolduc and Demidov, maybe even with Kirby Dach as their centerman.
Zach Bolduc’s Long-Term Outlook for the Montreal Canadiens
Long-term, it’s hard to say where Bolduc will fit into the lineup. The Canadiens have several prospects with top-six potential. This includes Alexander Zharovsky and Michael Hage. However, if we’re looking strictly at this year, we can expect Bolduc to remain in the top six. Montreal is looking to acquire a second-line center in the near future. This allows the Canadiens to have a stacked second line with Demidov, B0lduc, and their newly acquired pivot. Bolduc should be ahead of both Newhook and Patrik Laine on the team’s depth chart, now and in the future. Laine will likely be let go at the end of the year, as he is a UFA and hasn’t lived up to expectations in Montreal.
Canadiens fans shouldn’t be concerned with Bolduc’s recent struggles. He was playing on the fourth line with a struggling Dach and Joe Veleno, who is only in the lineup due to Laine’s injury. Now that he’s back in the top six, he should find more success on the scoresheet. The Canadiens have faith in the young forward now and in the future, which is why they paid such a high price to acquire him. He will be a key part of the team’s future forward core.
Main photo by: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
The post Montreal Canadiens Forward Struggling in Limited Role appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.