CHL notebook: Blues prospect Bolduc thriving in QMJHL

Future NHL stars are developing in the Canadian Hockey League this season. Each week, NHL.com highlight a few of the top NHL-affiliated prospects in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League.

Zachary Bolduc
is confident he's playing the way he needs to to reach the NHL.
And if the St. Louis Blues forward prospect isn't sure, he's got a list he can check.
Not long after the Blues sent Bolduc to Quebec of the QMJHL, members of St. Louis' development staff met with him and gave him a sheet of paper that outlined what they wanted him to focus on this season.
"It was three main points; the offense, the defense and the skills," Bolduc said. "In the offensive zone, they want me to be more of a net presence, drive the net more. The defensive side, they want me to stop and start on plays, not make big turns. And they want me to use my stick as well on the puck. And the skills, they want me to hold on to the puck, puck protection, win my battles and be physical in my battles.
"It's pretty clear. I don't have to think what they want. I know what I have to work on and my coaches here are working with me."

So far Bolduc has done what the Blues are hoping for. He is tied for fifth in the QMJHL with 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 14 games, and has at least two points in six of his past seven games.
"He went back there and knew he had something to prove and he's gotten off to a great start," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. "Obviously (coach) Patrick (Roy) is doing a great job, they've got a great team. I think his goal is to have a really good first half, get on Team Canada's radar screen for the (2023 IIHF) World Junior (Championship) and hopefully he's doing that."
The Blues were hoping this would be the response Bolduc had to being sent back to the QMJHL after a subpar training camp with St. Louis, including no points and four shots on goal in three preseason games.
"It's pretty simple: I didn't play the way I was able," Bolduc said. "I wasn't involved in the play, I wasn't physical, I wasn't confident with the puck. That's what brings my game to another level, when I try to do things, puck protection. I wasn't doing that stuff."
Armstrong said the Blues are confident another season of junior hockey will only help the 19-year-old.
"We were hoping he was going to take a step and maybe get some [NHL] games at the start of the year, but for whatever reason, his camp, he never got his footing and we thought it was best to get him back and it looks like that might have been the right decision," Armstrong said. "He got back there and he understood that he left something on the table and he's done a good job so far."
And if he ever isn't sure, he can check the sheet.

OTHERS TO WATCH

Christian Kyrou, D, Erie (Dallas Stars):Kyrou has nine points (four goals, five assists) during a four-game point streak. That includes his first OHL hat trick, when he scored three straight against Kitchener in a 7-3 victory Oct. 30. He has three straight multipoint games, and has at least two points in six of his 15 games this season. Kyrou's 19 points are tied for second among OHL defensemen, and his six goals and 13 assists each are tied for second among players at his position. The 19-year-old, who is the younger brother of Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, was selected by the Stars in the second round (No. 50) of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Riley Kidney, C, Acadie-Bathurst (Montreal Canadiens):Kidney capped his first four-point game of the season with the overtime goal in Acadie-Bathurst's 5-4 win against Baie-Comeau on Nov. 5. He had two goals and two assists in the win, and has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) during a six-game point streak. Kidney is tied for eighth in the QMJHL with 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) in 17 games. He has eight multipoint games; at the same point last season he also had eight multipoint games on his way to finishing with 100 points (30 goals, 70 assists) in 66 games. The 19-year-old was selected by the Canadiens in the second round (No. 63) of the 2021 NHL Draft.
Kevin Korchinski, D, Seattle (Chicago Blackhawks): Korchinski has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past five games, and is tied for second among WHL defensemen with 21 points (three goals, 18 assists) in 13 games. He has at least one point in 11 of his 13 games, and three games with at least three points; he had three points in a game four times in 67 games last season, when he was fourth among WHL defensemen with 65 points (four goals, 61 assists). The Blackhawks selected the 18-year-old in the first round (No. 7) of the 2022 draft.
Photos: Jonathan Roy