Matt Boldy was a first-round pick for the Wild in the 2019 entry draft, 12th overall, and he didn’t long to prove he was worth the collateral.

After putting up 39 points in his first 47 games, the big winger from Boston College hit the big time last season, hitting the 30-goal mark in his first full season, going 31-32–63 to help the Wild rack up 103 points.

By January, general manager Bill Guerin had seen enough to sign Boldy to a seven-year, $49 million extension, officially making him a cornerstone of this team’s future. The pressure to perform is on, and the 22-year-old is feeling it.

“Not really any words for it, just not playing great,” he said after practice Wednesday at TRIA Rink. “I’ll be the first one to tell you that.”

While Boldy wasn’t much help in the playoffs last spring, three assists in a six-game, first-round loss to Dallas, he was playing conspicuously well early, scoring a goal before being injured in the third period of the Wild’s second game, a 7-3 loss at Toronto. He missed seven games with an upper body injury and since his return has been conspicuously off.

That goal against the Maple Leafs was Boldy’s last, and the team’s early struggles — the Wild are 5-8-4 heading into Friday night’s game against Central Division rival Colorado at Xcel Energy Center — have put his struggles into sharp focus.

And it’s not just Boldy. Kirill Kaprizov, the team’s leading goal-scorer since he arrived from Russia before the 2020-21 season, has one even-strength goal. Marcus Johansson, who had six goals and 18 points after being acquired from Washington at the deadline last season, has one goal and eight points in 17 games.

“Yeah, it stinks,” Boldly said. “You want to do something to help the team.”

Guerin and coach Dean Evason have taken turns delivering the tough love to the team, which on Thursday was 12 points behind first-place Dallas in the Central and seven points out of a Western Conference playoff spot. Guerin delivered an in-person message before the team left for its two games last weekend in Sweden. Both said they liked what they saw in Stockholm, even as the Wild lost those NHL Global Series games — to Ottawa in a shootout and the Leafs in overtime.

Kaprizov on Wednesday acknowledged that the more he struggles, the more he overthinks the game, and Evason added, “Hockey players are always going to get in their own heads. Athletes are always going to get messed up with confidence.”

Asked if he thought that’s what’s going on with Boldy, the coach said, “I think it’s going on with our whole team. You can go down every NHL roster and pick and choose guys that go into a little bit of a funk here and there during a season. Unfortunately, we’ve done it collectively.”

The Wild want Boldy, 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, to spend more time in front of the net, using his body to screen the goalie and his stick to deflect shots. He’s a great skater and skilled player, but Evason wants him to simplify his game, play physically and get to the crease — which was key to his success in 2022-23.

Frankly, that’s what Evason wants from all his players. Boldy has 27 shots on goal but his scoring percentage is 3.7 percent. Last year it was 12.2 percent. And after delivering 65 official hits in 81 games last season, he has been credited with one so far this season.

“It’s a balance,” Boldy said. “It’s getting to the right areas and doing the right things and, yeah, it’s going to come eventually.”

The support from teammates, he added, has been there.

“He’s trying to win games, right? Like we all are,” Evason said. “He’s a young player in the National Hockey League. He’s still going through a process of becoming a great pro, and he’ll get there.”