C Bo Horvat (2013, 9th overall, Vancouver) II

[OvermanKingGainer]

I was really impressed by Horvat during the Flames/Canucks series. Very explosive and with a lot of power to his stride, there were sequences where he looked like a superstar out there.

That said I'd still reserve judgement until he's facing 1st/2nd defensive pairings, 3rd/2nd/1st forward lines. He took advantage of favorable matchups and that screams to me a candidate for a sophomore slump at the very least.

 

[tiny103]

I was really impressed by Horvat during the Flames/Canucks series. Very explosive and with a lot of power to his stride, there were sequences where he looked like a superstar out there.

That said I'd still reserve judgement until he's facing 1st/2nd defensive pairings, 3rd/2nd/1st forward lines. He took advantage of favorable matchups and that screams to me a candidate for a sophomore slump at the very least.

From my observations of the series, i would toss this consideration into the bag. It felt like the Flames were actually avoiding matching their top kid line against Horvat's line and the Sedins. Willie had no problem putting him up against top lines and was put out to take faceoffs at critical times.

Bonino was targeted and they succeeded big time in the last game with that matchip.

 

[canucksfan100]

Im not disagreeing with you but Friedman mentioned Horvat as well when talking about his Selke ballot.

honestly if Horvat had played more then 10-12 mins a game on the 4th line this season, he could've been in Calder debate. Hopefully he is the 2C, next year as he is better than Bonino. Maybe Gaunce at 4C next year

 

[Ho Borvat]

Horvat is a player who not only can take care of things in his own end, but actually generate his offense from his own zone (the same way a puck moving d-man does).

I think one of his best skills is his ability to take a defensive situation and then create a scoring opportunity from his own zone and create transitional offense.

I think if we can ever get Horvat and Virtanen on the same line, it would cause a lot of issues for teams that may not be able to handle that size/speed.

 

[Fulham]

Horvat Easily has potential to be a 60 Point(maybe +) 1st line centre, all while playing elite defence

He is still a step below Monahan offensively in my opinion but that could Change

Its Finally Exciting to be a fan of a NW team again,Some Epic Playoff Battles incoming

Mcdavid vs Monahan vs Horvat

 

[McMozesmadness]

Oilers fan here,

Not easy to admit this because I despise the Nucks, but you guys have a stud with Bo. When you have a guy with the work ethic to make on of his biggest weaknesses one of his biggest strengths (skating) you know you've got a player. He will have limitations offensively, but in terms of an overall two way game I think he'll be a stud for years to come.

Also got to meet the kid a few years back at the Memorial Cup, honestly one of the nicest young men I've met. Future captain material.

 

[King In The North]

lol Monahan isnt a 2 way player like Bo is.

Lol yeah he is. Dude was our most experience center for almost half the season and was matching up against top lines and on the PK.

 

[Canucks LB]

Lol yeah he is. Dude was our most experience center for almost half the season and was matching up against top lines and on the PK.

It's going to be really exciting to see Horvat vs Monahan in the future.

Imo it's like this.

Offense = Monahan
Defense = Horvat
Skating= Tough one, Tie (Maybe slight edge to Monahan)
Faceoff's = Horvat
Hockey IQ = Both extremely high, Tie
Offensive Awareness = Monahan
Defensive Awareness = Horvat

Right now I would give the Nudge to Monahan. I wanna see what Horvat can do with 18+ min a night, and PP time next season.

Gonna be exciting.

 

[WTG]

It's going to be really exciting to see Horvat vs Monahan in the future.

Imo it's like this.

Offense = Monahan
Defense = Horvat
Skating= Tough one, Tie (Maybe slight edge to Monahan)
Faceoff's = Horvat
Hockey IQ = Both extremely high, Tie
Offensive Awareness = Monahan
Defensive Awareness = Horvat

Right now I would give the Nudge to Monahan. I wanna see what Horvat can do with 18+ min a night, and PP time next season.

Gonna be exciting.

Hey now.

You have to take into account that Monahan is facing top D pairings while horvat is getting easy QoC.

 

[Addison Rae]

Monahan is better than Horvat right now and it's not that close, development isn't linear just because Monahan went from a 30 point player to a 60 point player doesn't mean Horvat is poised to do the same, until Horvat accomplishes what Monahan is doing right now it's not really a debate IMO.

 

[Eternalize]

I've said it from the day it happened, the Devils made a huge mistake trading for Schneider and not selecting Horvat which was born to play Devils style of hockey.

I think the Devils got some good value for that 9th overall. Obviously, there were talks that the Canucks could have gotten a little more, and had a better offer from the Oilers. But i always kinda thought that the trade didn't really make any sense for the Devils. They obviously needed a goalie, and they got a really good one. But i think they should have just started a rebuild, and it's even easier to say it now considering how things are looking. Didn't have too many exciting prospects coming up.

Reaching the Cup Finals the year before (which was a huge surprise) was probably one reason why Lou thought they were closer than they actually were. But they had lost Parise, and they were going to lose Kovalchuk (don't know exact date when he decided to leave Devils), that's their 2 best offensive players by far. Schneider is only 29, and he should be good for 5 seasons at least. But will NJ be competitors under this course of time? Obviously tough to say right now, but their prospect pool isn't exactly great right now. That 6th overall pick this year will be huge for them though.

Even though Canucks maybe didn't get full value for Schneider, they still got exactly what they needed, which was a great young player that can be a major part of their future team, a guy that could also make their team in a few years (which he has done now). If Horvat can be at least a great 2nd line center like Bergeron or Kesler, then i'd be really happy with the trade. You have to remember that the goalie market is tough, so a top10 pick for a goalie, that wasn't even amongst the best goalies in the league (he is now though) is a pretty good return.

 

[YogiCanucks]

Kesler may be the better goal scorer but saying his upside is Kesler's is kind of a slight to Horvat. Horvat has much better hands and vision. It took Kesler until he was 25 to put up second line upside and he still wasn't very good at passing or seeing the ice. He was pure power, speed and finish. IMO Horvat will be better then Kesler. On and off the ice. Also, to the other Canucks fan that said Johansen.....seriously? Johansen is a premier player now. A stud. Like a point per game stud. I don't see Horvat being that. He'll be between 60-75 and shutting down the opposing line and being top 5 in face off year in and year out. But in terms of value to a team. It's possible because of Horvat's defensive ability and character. But he'll never have that offensive upside that Joahnsen has.

Kesler is a terrible comparison for everyone because he's a stereotypical late bloomer. For 5 years after being drafted it looked like Kesler's ceiling was as a 3rd line center. Some of you Canuck fans may remember the "Frick and Frack" days of him and Burrows being a very good 3rd line shut down duo.

Kesler always had the work ethic and the speed but he also was "stone hands Kesler" who "couldn't break a pane of glass" and developed a shot out of nowhere.

Great example of a player getting better after the 'normal' development period but hardly a good comparison to any one else.

The difference between Horvat at the start of the year and Horvat at the end of the year is absolutely night & day. Almost every knock he had on him when he was drafted he's taken strides to correct I honestly can't remember the last time I was this excited for a Canucks prospect!

Does anyone know if they'll send him to Utica for there playoff run? I imagine both Baertschi and Kenins will be sent down

Let me remind you, Cody Hodgson - 2011. Don't give me that hindsight argument of "he was always terrible defensively" or "his skating could never make it at the NHL". You were just as excited as any other Canuck fan. Let it be a reminder of how things can go.

 

[Replay]

You guys have a great player with Bo. Monahan has been amazing for us but I definitely see the potential for Horvat to be a similar calibre player for you guys. Congrats

 

[RandV]

I was really impressed by Horvat during the Flames/Canucks series. Very explosive and with a lot of power to his stride, there were sequences where he looked like a superstar out there.

That said I'd still reserve judgement until he's facing 1st/2nd defensive pairings, 3rd/2nd/1st forward lines. He took advantage of favorable matchups and that screams to me a candidate for a sophomore slump at the very least.

Now I could be wrong, but I don't recall that this was one of the elements to his game when he was drafted? Maybe he could do it in junior, but he wasn't doing it through the first half of the season in the NHL. With all the strength & conditioning he did in season, suddenly you have him powering past guys on his skating alone. I think the first time we saw it was that break away goal against... San Jose with Brent Burns on D?

Basically what I'm getting at, not to keep tossing on the hype but good things tend to happen when a kid adds a new element to his game after being drafted.

 

[Aerchon]

Oilers fan here,

Not easy to admit this because I despise the Nucks, but you guys have a stud with Bo. When you have a guy with the work ethic to make on of his biggest weaknesses one of his biggest strengths (skating) you know you've got a player. He will have limitations offensively, but in terms of an overall two way game I think he'll be a stud for years to come.

Also got to meet the kid a few years back at the Memorial Cup, honestly one of the nicest young men I've met. Future captain material.

This. I am used to fan bases over valuing their prospects but Bo seems legit.

 

[Canucks LB]

Here are a few highlights. His speed stands out, powerful strides

 

[ponder]

+1 to all the great things being said about Horvat. So strong on the puck for a kid who just turned 20, already a great defensive player and good faceoff man. Better than I expected offensively too, I don't expect him to put up big numbers next season, but I do think he'll be one of those guys who makes really steady progress every year. Reminds me a lot of Bergeron, in a few years I can see him hitting that 50-60 point mark that Bergeron hits regularly, while bringing that same elite defence, elite faceoffs, terrific hustle and clutch play.

 

[BigBen]

Monahan and Horvat will be similar players when it's all said and done i think. Both have bright futures.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

It's going to be really exciting to see Horvat vs Monahan in the future.

Imo it's like this.

Offense = Monahan
Defense = Horvat
Skating= Tough one, Tie (Maybe slight edge to Monahan)
Faceoff's = Horvat
Hockey IQ = Both extremely high, Tie
Offensive Awareness = Monahan
Defensive Awareness = Horvat

Right now I would give the Nudge to Monahan. I wanna see what Horvat can do with 18+ min a night, and PP time next season.

Gonna be exciting.

Why would Horvat get PP ice time?

 

[Rex Banner]

Why would Horvat get PP ice time?

I really hope he does. Our current 2nd unit PP center has 5 points on said PP averaging 1:52 over 75 games played. 5 points in 114 minutes of PP time. 1 goal.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

I really hope he does. Our current 2nd unit PP center has 5 points on said PP averaging 1:52 over 75 games played. 5 points in 114 minutes of PP time. 1 goal.

I understand that however, not all players are good on the PP. Even when Zajac was a very good even strength producer he wasn't good on the PP.

 

[Eternalize]

Why would Horvat get PP ice time?

The question is rather - Why wouldn't he? The Canucks offensive quality isn't exactly great. You got the Sedins, Vrbata... and? You don't know how he will handle it until he's being handed some opportunities. The guy just turned 20. Considering how good Horvat was the 2nd half of the season, he definitely deserved some PP time, especially since Bonino wasn't too good. I doubt Horvat would struggle too much on the PP. He's very mature and his hockey IQ is good.

 

[King In The North]

CAnucks fans forget that Monahan was our shutdown center as a sophomore for more than half the season, and on the PK too. Mony is better right now.

Our Cs were:

Monahan
Jooris
Granlund
Bouma

 

[DFF]

It's going to be really exciting to see Horvat vs Monahan in the future.

Imo it's like this.

Offense = Monahan
Defense = Horvat
Skating= Tough one, Tie (Maybe slight edge to Monahan)
Faceoff's = Horvat
Hockey IQ = Both extremely high, Tie
Offensive Awareness = Monahan
Defensive Awareness = Horvat

Right now I would give the Nudge to Monahan. I wanna see what Horvat can do with 18+ min a night, and PP time next season.

Gonna be exciting.

Horvat is closer to Ferland than Monahan

 

[WTG]

Horvat is closer to Ferland than Monahan

What are you talking about lol?

Horvat plays nothing like Ferland. Plus Horvat's 3 years younger.