Zachary Bolduc: Seeing him left out is a good thing.

Marc-Olivier Cook
Zachary Bolduc: Seeing him left out is a good thing.
Credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Tonight, the Montreal Canadiens will face off against the New York Islanders at the Bell Centre.

This will be the Montreal club's first game since returning from the break… and we know that forward Alex Newhook will be back in the lineup for the occasion.

We also know that Jayden Struble, Joe Veleno, Jakub Dobes, and Zachary Bolduc will not be playing. And for Bolduc, this may be the best thing that could have happened to him. I'll explain why.

Since the start of the season, the young forward has been inconsistent. He hasn't been able to cement his place in the team's top nine, even though we know he has a lot of talent.

Martin St-Louis had no choice but to send him a message. In my opinion, Canadiens fans shouldn't necessarily be concerned… because this can happen to any 23-year-old player in the National Hockey League.

The Canadiens want Bolduc to be able to help the club for several years. And now, with him finding himself in a less important role in the lineup before the Olympic break… we didn't see him as a guy who was progressing on the ice.

He seemed to be treading water. With Newhook's return, he's the one who's going to take the hit tonight… and maybe that will help him understand one thing: in the NHL, you can't take nights off if you want to keep your job.

You have to play the same way every night… and that's not what Bolduc has been doing since the start of the season. Again, it's all part of his learning curve. And it can only help him going forward… as long as the Canadiens manage his situation well over the next few weeks.

Leaving him out of a game to send him a message is OK.

But at the same time, the Canadiens can't start playing yo-yo with him. The kid is going to have to find his place in the lineup again, and it will be up to Martin St-Louis to try a few things to help him get back on track.

We know what he's capable of… but at the end of the day, it's a question of consistency.

And again, that's okay: he's 23 years old, in his second season in the NHL, he's put a lot of pressure on himself to succeed… and he's still learning. But he'll also have to understand that the Canadiens have just sent him a message, and it will be up to him to prove to management that he has grasped the essence of that message.

And the same goes for the Strubles and Velenos of this world…


In a nutshell

– Notice to those interested:

— Too funny!

— Makes sense.

“I've been waiting for this game for a while, I had it marked on my calendar.”👇https://t.co/GiYrCF5S3O

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) February 26, 2026

– Yes!

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