Could Bolduc Challenge Laine for Best Wrist Shot?

As we all know, Laine has a generational wrist shot and is one of the best pure goal scorers in the game today. The fact that Bolduc may even have a better wrist shot than Laine seems a little silly to think of. However, Bolduc does have a pretty strong shot. 

The former St. Louis Blues forward showed last year that he may be one of the best shooters from the bumper down the stretch, as he scored 13 goals in 23 games to end the season. Cook does mention that he believes that his opinion on Bolduc’s shot is definitely a hot take. Although, like Tony Marinaro said, following his declaration on Bolduc’s shot is that his shot may be faster, which could be the case, but Laine has the harder and heavier shot that is harder to stop at the end of the day. 

There is a reason why Laine scored the 4th most power-play goals in the entire NHL, despite missing about a third of the 2024-25 season. His shot is easily among the top 5 heaviest wrist shots in the world today. On the other hand, it isn’t as fast a shot as many other top goal scorers in the league. While it could be that teams underestimated his wrister early in his return, it is evident that his shot in general is one of the hardest to stop in the league when he gets to his spot on the left side of the ice. He has essentially proven that heavier shots are better than fast wrist shots. There are faster wrist shots on the team like Caufield’s and maybe even Suzuki’s shot, but their shot isn’t as dangerous as Laine’s. Bolduc likely fits in the range of a Caufield wrister, given what we can see from his snapshot in his highlights.

Cook also stated that Bolduc really could be the best option for the Canadiens if Kirby Dach can’t return on time for the regular season. What Bolduc brings is being a player who is incredibly strong on the forecheck, playing a power forward type game that is a proven success when it comes to the playoffs in the NHL. 

The new Habs forward has already shown what he can do on the forecheck by being relentless at times during his first playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets. While his offense dried up, he showed that his physical game can still make an impact. 

At the end of the day, Zach Bolduc can easily be an everyday top 6 forward in the NHL in the near future. If he can prove that he is, in fact, an NHL centre, there is a good chance that he would take Kirby Dach’s spot for good, because his healthy and physical game will cancel out what Dach would be missing from his own game. It’s crazy to think that if Dach is healthy, he is penciled in on the 2nd line because Bolduc, who was a good centre in the QJMHL, is a serious possibility to be an NHL pivot.

To conclude, I do not think Bolduc has a better wrist shot than Patrik Laine, but it could still be a faster shot. Cook’s point of view definitely gives a good topic to discuss, as Bolduc does have the shoy of a natural scorer. Plus, given Dach’s play last year and his uncertain health, Bolduc deserves a legitimate opportunity to take that 2nd line centre role and run, because a line of Laine-Bolduc-Demidov could seriously be a threat around the league.

Do you think Bolduc’s shot could be better than Laine’s?