Horvat vs Kesler

[Benchsplinters]

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.

In my opinion Kesler still has not matured.

[*Buzzsaw*]

People who want to disrespect Kesler to pump up Bo are just being foolish.

I am a huge fan of #53, but I am not going to take cheap shots at Kesler to try to make Bo seem better.

Kesler was and is a hugely talented player who teams all over the league wanted as a shutdown center who could score.

He was a big part of our Cup run... anyone who suggests otherwise is delusional.

Anaheim was just one of many teams who were lining up offering a deal for him.

And the players we got in the deal for Kesler are one of the reasons we are doing well right now... and may improve in the future. Teams don't give up #1 picks, plus a playing 2C center and a 5/6 defenseman unless they are getting a REAL player.

Anaheim and Vancouver had different requirements... their window was RIGHT NOW, ours is hopefully in the future.

Bo Horvat is a promising young player, and I don't have any doubt, given he doesn't sustain any serious injuries, he will be a huge contributor to the future of the team.

[cuporbust]

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.

Good post. I remember everyone saying kes was a bust early on. Horvat looks much better then kesler did in his rookie year. However, he has a long ways to go to be in the same conversation obviously

[Adamth]

we should Compare Kesler to the Sedins = easy Kesler wins cause he knows how to SCORE.

[asian player]

Horvat will be respected around the league, like Toews, Bergeron, Kopitar. He'll be viewed as a hard working, responsible leader. Kesler is hated by most around the league, but that's what makes him so effective

[Jiggs50]

Kesler is a POS. screwed the franchise that made him what he is. After the way he left any true Canucks fan would write him off!

Luongo did the same but ppl praise him like a saint. They both made the right choices for themselves and the Canucks.

[Jiggs50]

Kesler was an awesome player for us, who developed perfectly. He was supposed to be a 3rd liner and went beyond expectations. The hate he's getting for leaving is dumb. He made the right calll for him and us.

Horvat is producing at a much younger age but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll turn out better than Kesler. But there's a darn good chance he does.

[oldnews]

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.

I remember Kesler's rookie season as well - he thought he was going to step in and take a top 6 role from the get-go. Big ego - huge.

Reality check set in, he put on his work boots and became an outstanding two way player alongside Burrows.

I'd agree with you - that Horvat is easily the better player at age 19.

[guesswhere]

Well, so far it's Horvat 1 - Kesler 0 on the night (^.^)d

[MaxVerstappen33]

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.

In all fairness, he was expected to be a super pest early in his career.

[thad]

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.

Gotta admit, I was a little jealous when they landed eberle and he took off while coho got hurt and struggled. This was well worth the wait though.

Man this kids looking he could be more than we'd ever hoped for.

[Amish Rake Fighter]

^12 points in his last 21 games

[cuporbust]

Luongo did the same but ppl praise him like a saint. They both made the right choices for themselves and the Canucks.

Ya let's not pretend "we" made him what he is. He worked hard for that no matter how much of a douchbag he may be. It's not like he wouldn't have had a chance with another team.

[cuporbust]

If Bo turns out to be another Toews we've got it made.

That is actually a very good comparison in terms of style of play, size , and character

Hell they even look alike Lol. Toews had much more skilled linmates. He had better numbers , but we will have to see how things turn out. I don't even want to speculate on his ceiling. Who knows

He has kesler type numbers ironicly.

Horvat is three points off Keslers first 82 game season points totals in only 53 games.

Kes 23 points (10 goals and 13 assists) in 82 games)

Horvat 20 points ( 11 goals and 9 assists) in 53 games.

Horvat also only has 10 penalty minutes to Keslers 79 in their first seasons

[MoneypuckOverlord]

Good post. I remember everyone saying kes was a bust early on. Horvat looks much better then kesler did in his rookie year. However, he has a long ways to go to be in the same conversation obviously

Yes.

heading into the 2003 NHL entry draft, we held the 23rd pick.

At the time Canucks fans being the arm chairs that we always are, we wanted either Robert Nillson or Jeff Tambellini. Son of Assistant General Manager at the time Steve. Jeff was a B.C boy, high scoring college winger, who played on the line with Sidney Crosby the following wjc. Canucks at the time needed a scoring winger equivlaent to us needing Defencemen today. We drafted the Sedins, but following years, we drafted Centermans in Nathan Smith and R.J Umberger.

Nillson and Tambellini would fit the profile of who we needed. Nucks fans were pretty unanimous on taking a B.C Born high scoring winger in Jeff, of course Islanders made a off the chart pick by picking up Nillson (Aka Peter Forsberg lite) with the 14th pick, which then we held our breath for Jeff Tambelleni. When Ryan Kesler's name got called everyone was like WTF just happened! another "2 way centerman" wth! blah blah blah, (Recent Selections were Nathan Smith, (safe pick) and R.J Umberger) Offensive centerman) . Most of us never even talked about this guy.

so as you can see we are stacked down the middle, keep in mind 2003 nhl entry draft was a no lose draft. it was a deep draft and we expected more from drafting a sure fire 3rd line player. We were expecting a sure fire top 6 foward. Hfboards.com ranked him a sure fire NHler but peeking at an effective 3rd line player. Keep in mind Keslers stats were garbage at the time also, and the numbers he put up that year, is not a player you want would want to draft with a 1st round pick The going rate for college players to be drafted in the 1st round needs to be above point per game. He was well below that, and canucks fans were pissed.

He didn't do much the following years, Canucks fans didn't have much expectations for him. 2004, 2005, 2006 he did jack, 2007 he did jack sh!t, 2008 he didn't do much either, it wasn't until Mats Sundin came in, and Changed the Sedins, Kesler Burrows and Kevin Bieksa for the better.

but what do we know? Ryan Kesler is actually one of the best 2 way fowards to come out of the 2003 NHL entry draft. It ook him years to hit his peak, kinda like the SEdins, who didn't do much until 5 seasons later. the same with Ryan Kesler. He didn't do much until the 2009 season. Tambelleni is now in Switzerland and Nillson is in Sweden for a while now.

as for Horvat vs Kesler comparisons, people are right, same "category" if you ask me. Shut down 2 way centermans, but both players play it differently.

Now I see Horvat make the team as 19 year old, last player to do that, Ryan Kesler, not only that, actually guys, he was actually spent time between ahl and NHL, but anyways, back to my point, the Horvat I am seeing now, is better a better then the Kesler I saw for the 1st 4 years. No joke. I personally thought Ryan Kesler is going to be a career 3rd line player.

anyways I"m glad to have Bo Horvat. Champion ship teams are built with guys like Bo. I hope he hoists the cup one day with the Canucks Jersey on, and I think the trade worked out for the Canucks.

[Benchsplinters]

People who want to disrespect Kesler to pump up Bo are just being foolish.

I am a huge fan of #53, but I am not going to take cheap shots at Kesler to try to make Bo seem better.

Kesler was and is a hugely talented player who teams all over the league wanted as a shutdown center who could score.

He was a big part of our Cup run... anyone who suggests otherwise is delusional.

Anaheim was just one of many teams who were lining up offering a deal for him.

And the players we got in the deal for Kesler are one of the reasons we are doing well right now... and may improve in the future. Teams don't give up #1 picks, plus a playing 2C center and a 5/6 defenseman unless they are getting a REAL player.

Anaheim and Vancouver had different requirements... their window was RIGHT NOW, ours is hopefully in the future.

Bo Horvat is a promising young player, and I don't have any doubt, given he doesn't sustain any serious injuries, he will be a huge contributor to the future of the team.

Being critical of a player is not taking a cheap shot at him. Yes Kesler is a very good hockey player but there is more to being a good hockey player than just hockey ability. If you wish to remain oblivious to a few of his more undesirable traits that is your right.

Answer these questions: (1) was he a team player with Vancouver (2) did he ever really compliment any player that played on his line (3) did his super ego really help his team here. (4) how loyal was Kesler to the Canucks. (5) did you enjoy watching him make himself look stupid with all his diving (6) professional hockey players don't cry when they lose (7) taking the above into consideration is he as mature as you would like him to be if he was a player on your hockey team. (8) is he an honest individual

My answer is no to all of the above. As a matter of fact I will not compare Horvat and Kesler as they are two totally different characters and players but I personally like the character and player Bo has portrayed better. I like what Bo represents as a hockey player.

No one is maligning Kesler to hype up Bo. Saying that tends you to sound like you are over sensitive because someone is criticizing a favorite player of yours.

There are those who do not share the opinion you have of Kesler but that is a far cry from being disrespectful of him. Some boats just float differently.

[supermanbieksa]

They are very different players. They play the 2-way game in different ways. Kesler relies more on his speed while relies Horvat positioning. Kesler has a very hard shot and was used as a sniper/net precense while Horvat mainly net presence.

And for christ sake, Kesler was a great player for us. Scored many goals, won the Selke and was a player who acutally could controll games with his game when he was at his prime. If Horvat becomes as good as Kesler in his prime we should be very happy. Because he was a beast.

[Me_]

Cant compare the two...horvat wont score 41 goals in a season, plus its looking like horvat will have alot better wingers than kesler ever had.

You're... serious?

This is typical of that depressed Vancouver fan BS.

Not all fans are like you and thank God for that.

Bo Horvat is ten times the player Kesler is and is still a teen. His attitude is professional and Hamhuis-nice. He is mature beyond his years.

Kesler is a selfish player who doesn't pass and his wingers suffer. Kesler has had much better wingers than Dorsett and Hansen throughout his career.

Kesler is a career 25 goal scorer with one 41 goal campaign.

I don't see Horvat asking for a trade any time soon.

If the rain gets to you, you can always cheer for Anaheim.

You remind me of a benign tumor; even if it's not malignant, it's still a tumor.

[BI3KSA-]

Way too early to say and honestly not a comparison that even needs to be made.

[Jiggs50]

You're... serious?

This is typical of that depressed Vancouver fan BS.

Not all fans are like you and thank God for that.

Bo Horvat is ten times the player Kesler is and is still a teen. His attitude is professional and Hamhuis-nice. He is mature beyond his years.

Kesler is a selfish player who doesn't pass and his wingers suffer. Kesler has had much better wingers than Dorsett and Hansen throughout his career.

Kesler is a career 25 goal scorer with one 41 goal campaign.

I don't see Horvat asking for a trade any time soon.

If the rain gets to you, you can always cheer for Anaheim.

You remind me of a benign tumor; even if it's not malignant, it's still a tumor.

Did you read the same thing I did. All he said was you can't compare the two and that Bo will never score 41.

I don't think I need to explain the first one.

Bo will probably never score 41 goals in a season. Imo he will be a better overall player but never a guy who pots 41. That's pretty hard to do.

That's all the guy posted and you threw a bitch fit. Chill brah