Horvat vs Kesler

[Spotted Zebra]

I hope he burns in hell

I hope he wins a Stanley Cup

[*Buzzsaw*]

Two different players... different styles and skill set.

Kesler has more natural speed and a better wrist shot.

Horvat has better overall physical play, and I'm betting with his build he won't get injured as much. He also has better netfront presence. He also seems less selfish than Kesler, uses his wingmen better.

Both of them have good faceoff skills... obviously Kesler is better right now, Horvat is developing.

Horvat has a long way to go before he is as good as Kesler, but he is definitely on his way.

If I was going to make a prediction, it would be that Horvat will top out at 35 goals and 70 points... but his leadership and overall contribution to the team will be just as significant as Kesler.

[blackpluto96]

Bo wearing C would be like Toews, Kesler wearing a C would be like Brown.

[4everacanuck13]

See, some canucks fan are salty as hell, like when Kesler was with us, being a leader, showing passion, playing hard, etc yal were like OMG YAAAA GO KESSS but when he left BECAUSE HE WANTED TO WIN A RING, booo he sucks, i hope he burn in hell, like if u were in his spot, wouldnt you wanna move to a team that can win a cup? or at least contend again? Kesler is a competitive guy man, yall shouldnt be mean to him, but yall shouldnt me nice, treat him as another player,

On the other hand, Horvat is a very hardnosed, hard skating, forechecking, skilled, smart and very reliable on both ends, so i say we have a great player here, but do we want him to develop as a Kesler? no, We want him to develop as a Horvat. so stop comparing these two, because one is young, while the other is proven.

[khay]

Yes it does and I totally agree. That said you have to admit Kesler's methods were effective.

I agree that Kesler's methods were effective. I think one of Kesler's hitting tactics was to skate right at a player who has his back turned. This scares the player into thinking that he might get hit in the numbers and the player would turn to protect himself and to try to skate away. But by this point, Kesler would accelerate and hit him hard before the guy has chance to avoid the hit. But because the player turned, the hit is not from the back but from the side. It was effective.

[Bure.10]

Horvat had another good game against San Jose tonight (Saturday), scoring the game-tying goal and playing shutdown at crucial times.

Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but he could be a potential Selke candidate. And he does look destined to take Kesler's role on the Canucks. But he looks like an upgrade on Kesler (Maybe not right now, but in terms of overall career trajectory).

Bo is 19 and is having a very good year, with 10 goals already. Kesler played for a while with the Canucks at age 19, picking up 2 goals and 3 assists in 28 games. He had his first fulll season with the Canucks at age 21, when he scored 10 goals in 82 games (along with 13 assists, for 23 pts). He did not have his breakthrough year until age 23, when he scored 21 goals and had 16 assists for 37 pts.

So Bo is significantly ahead in his development so far.

Kesler is physically strong, but Bo is stronger,

Kesler is very good in the face-off circle but, based on how well he is doing so far, Bo should be better.

Kesler is an excellent shutdown centre. Bo is already playing shutdown against top centers and doing well. He looks like a potential world class shut down guy.

Kesler is very good on the PK. Bo has recently been given PK time and, for a 19 year-old, he is exceptionally good.

Kesler is a good shooter. Bo is better at this stage of his career than Kesler was. And Bo is a better passer.

Kesler contributes to the physical game. So does Bo, and he takes far fewer penalties.

Kesler is a very good skater who contributes to the speed game. This should be an advantage for Kesler but Bo was always a good skater and seems to have improved in the past year. He can also contribute to the speed game.

Key differences are:

1. Bo makes anyone he plays with better. Various guys do "surprisingly well" with Bo. This applies to Kenins, Dorsett, Hansen, and others. Kesler made guys he played with worse.

2. Bo is a great guy, Modest, popular with fans and teammates and a great guy to have around. Kesler is basically an a**h****.

Bottom line. It is still early, but Bo looks to be a more valuable player than Kesler. With normal development I see him as a better player within two years and a legitimate Selke candidate down the road.

So I see his ceiling as a world class 2C.

I think we are still looking for high end offensive talent for 1C to replace Henrik but I do not see that person in the system yet. McCann, like Horvat, is more of a two-way center who could be a world class 3C (although it is much too early to have any confidence).

I know people will hate this comment but I wonder if the Canucks maybe should have taken Nylander instead of Virtanen in the 2014 draft, although Virtanen is a very good prospect. But Nylander is doing surprisingly well in the AHL for an 18 year-old.

Maybe the Canucks will draft Barzal this year. If so, then I will be much happier with Virtanen pick, as Virtanen brings an unsually combination of skill, speed, toughness and intensity to the game.

I don't think you really need an "elite" offensive 1C to be a successful team. Look at the last few cup champs. Boston had Bergeron and Krejci. LA had Kopitar and Carter and the Blackhawks had Toews and fill in the blank as their 2nd C. While Kopitar and Toews are GREAT players, they aren't your "elite" offensive 1C who score 100 points.

I think we'd do just fine with Horvat and Mccann as the 1-2 guys. They'd be similar to Bergeron and Krejci. Cassels and Gaunce can be the 3-4 C's.

PS. Can someone tell me how William Nylander is eligible to play in the AHL?? Don't you have to be atleast 20 yrs old?

[canucks.brad]

remember when we were all on the COHO bandwagon?

remember when we all loved kesler?

can we not just let horvat become the player he is and not compare?

kesler was an amazing player. he still is...

[Sweathog]

See, some canucks fan are salty as hell, like when Kesler was with us, being a leader, showing passion, playing hard, etc yal were like OMG YAAAA GO KESSS but when he left BECAUSE HE WANTED TO WIN A RING, booo he sucks, i hope he burn in hell, like if u were in his spot, wouldnt you wanna move to a team that can win a cup? or at least contend again? Kesler is a competitive guy man, yall shouldnt be mean to him, but yall shouldnt me nice, treat him as another player,

On the other hand, Horvat is a very hardnosed, hard skating, forechecking, skilled, smart and very reliable on both ends, so i say we have a great player here, but do we want him to develop as a Kesler? no, We want him to develop as a Horvat. so stop comparing these two, because one is young, while the other is proven.

Yeah Canuck fans can be pretty salty,but in this case we have reason to be. Its one thing for Kesler to want out, but to demand a trade AND only accept to go to one or two teams is a pretty lame move imo. We didn't get full value in the trade,and Kesler was the reason for it.

I agree with you about Horvat though, let him develop the way that's best for him and let the chips fall where they may. The kid keeps getting better and better,and it bodes well for the team's future.

[Ballisticsports.]

Yeah not sure if its fair to compare them this early on

Although, as I recall, if comparing them for their ages, Bo is further along in his development than Kesler was at that age

[Pimp C]

How hilarious is it that we already found our replacement for Kesler going forward but teams like the leafs and oilers have been looking for a player like this for the last decade.

[shiznak]

Luongo did the exact same thing just saying he may have done it classier and for better reasons but he still hand cuffed the Canucks to trading him only to Florida

Guess what both him and Kesler have the right to do exactly what they did to the Canucks they don't owe this team anything at the end of the day they are an employee if they feel like it's time to move on it's their right if they have a NTC it's their right to limit the Canucks to 1 team

Not true, remember those Luongo to the Leafs rumours?

I'm pretty sure Luongo would have accepted a trade to any team, as long as he was the starter.

[Twilight Sparkle]

I hope he wins a Stanley Cup

in nhl 15?

kesler was an amazing player. he still is...

not since 2011, dude

One minor difference I noticed between Kesler and Horvat. One thing about Kesler is his aggression. When he uses his body, it annoys people, the way he does it, he hits them sort of in a cheapish way like Dustin Brown does. Horvat uses his body effectively to separate the puck holder from the puck but without getting them angry.

I don't know if what I said makes sense.

it could make them angry, being outplayed by a "rookie"

[Puck'nAnimal]

Just let Bo develop the way he's supposed to develop and don't dump everything on his shoulders right off the bat. WD is doing what he can to give Bo a rounded experience on the ice with putting him into situations where he learns the ropes and the speed of the game.

[Todd Bersnoozi]

Yeah, I think Kes is faster and has a better shot, but BoHo look to be just as good in many other departments. Bo did really impress me when he sped past Burns like that on that goal the other day. Right now, I doubt u even trade a guy like Bo straight up for Kes, mainly cuz of the age difference. Bo is really starting to look like he can become a Jonathan Toews type of player, which would bode really well for us. : :D

[canucks.brad]

not since 2011, dude

He is still a very hard working player with 41 points. Will get get to 75 again? Probably not...but he is still an elite player.

[YummyCakeFace]

JamesB - I like point #2. I can see Horvat one day not only being captain, but the type of captain that treats people and teammates the same way Hank does.

[JamesB]

I don't think you really need an "elite" offensive 1C to be a successful team. Look at the last few cup champs. Boston had Bergeron and Krejci. LA had Kopitar and Carter and the Blackhawks had Toews and fill in the blank as their 2nd C. While Kopitar and Toews are GREAT players, they aren't your "elite" offensive 1C who score 100 points.

I think we'd do just fine with Horvat and Mccann as the 1-2 guys. They'd be similar to Bergeron and Krejci. Cassels and Gaunce can be the 3-4 C's.

PS. Can someone tell me how William Nylander is eligible to play in the AHL?? Don't you have to be atleast 20 yrs old?

The 20-year old rule applies to players who player in Junior in North America. I am not sure if it applies to NCAA players. It does not apply to guys playing in Europe.

[MoneypuckOverlord]

I recall Ryan Kesler from his rookie year. He made the team out of training camp. the last player to do that, at the time was Trevor Linden. The management had high hopes for him, and other users who watched him at training camp said he wasnan incredible player.

Management decided he was better off playing with the team or Manitoba, so he made the team, R.J Umberger was sent back to Ohio State U.

Kesler made out of training camp, that said he was a 19 year old, same as Horvat.

and I will tell you this, Horvat at the same age is a better player then Kesler was. Lets not even talk about, at the time, Horvat 19 year old was better then Keslers first 4 years in the NHL. Ryan Kesler was a bottom line player, who was tough as hell. He was afraid of no one, feared no one, fought Iginla, will fight anyone hit anyone. that said, his skill set was not as fluid, he was just not as good offensively.

That said, nothing against Kesler, I have his Jersey with the 2011 Stanley cup run logo, great player, but I think Horvat is going to compete for many Selke trophies.

[UFCanuck]

I recall Ryan Kesler from his rookie year. He made the team out of training camp. the last player to do that, at the time was Trevor Linden. The management had high hopes for him, and other users who watched him at training camp said he wasnan incredible player.

Management decided he was better off playing with the team or Manitoba, so he made the team, R.J Umberger was sent back to Ohio State U.

Kesler made out of training camp, that said he was a 19 year old, same as Horvat.

and I will tell you this, Horvat at the same age is a better player then Kesler was. Lets not even talk about, at the time, Horvat 19 year old was better then Keslers first 4 years in the NHL. Ryan Kesler was a bottom line player, who was tough as hell. He was afraid of no one, feared no one, fought Iginla, will fight anyone hit anyone. that said, his skill set was not as fluid, he was just not as good offensively.

That said, nothing against Kesler, I have his Jersey with the 2011 Stanley cup run logo, great player, but I think Horvat is going to compete for many Selke trophies.

Another big difference imo is that it took Kesler way longer to mature.

It took until after his 24 yr old season, when Sundin was his Center and then Gillis told him to grow up after the season.

Horvat's 19 and he's already mature.

[Benchsplinters]

Why cant we just let Bo be Bo?

I am good with that too. Kesler and Bo are two very different players when it comes to attitude, loyalty, being a team player and ego.

Those were all faults Kesler played with that actually got in the way of his play. Bo has made them his attributes and will always use them in the right way to make himself a better player. He is doing great. Let's just let him turn out to be what he will be rather than saddle him with the responsibility to live up to or be compared to another player

Frankly, I love what I see with Bo while on the other hand I did not like a lot of what I saw in Kesler. I know we have a real dandy in Bo and I just want to see him grow from there.