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Bo Horvat | #53 | C


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I've been watching the Comets games and he certainly doesn't look out of place as a 19 year old, but he's a lot lower on the depth chart than many here want to believe. It's unfortunate that he can't stay in Utica as a 3rd-4th liner and really get comfortablke as a pro

I agree with everything you said and let me add. To the Canuck's fans that are concerned that Bo Horvat has zero points after four games in Utica. He hasn't been getting top line minutes and I expected that would be the plan all along. He is coming off an injury and is down here on a conditioning assignment. I thought they would "ease him back in" with third or fourth line minutes and that is exactly what they are doing.

He hasn't looked one bit out of place and has made several subtle little plays that will never show up on the score sheet. He missed two wide open nets that maybe were due to "gripping the stick too tight" or just some rust that he needs to kick off. But if those two go in suddenly he has two goals in four games and everyone is talking differently about him.

The only negative thing that I can say about him so far is he seems to be losing a lot more faceoffs than he is winning which has been a surprise after reading that was one of his strengths.

Of his four games I have seen three in person and the other on a stream. I am just a fan and don't proclaim to be an evaluator of hockey talent but he looks fine to me for a 19 year old kid coming off an injury.

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I've been watching the Comets games and he certainly doesn't look out of place as a 19 year old, but he's a lot lower on the depth chart than many here want to believe. It's unfortunate that he can't stay in Utica as a 3rd-4th liner and really get comfortablke as a pro

I think that would be the best for his development, it's a shame.
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I agree with everything you said and let me add. To the Canuck's fans that are concerned that Bo Horvat has zero points after four games in Utica. He hasn't been getting top line minutes and I expected that would be the plan all along. He is coming off an injury and is down here on a conditioning assignment. I thought they would "ease him back in" with third or fourth line minutes and that is exactly what they are doing.

He hasn't looked one bit out of place and has made several subtle little plays that will never show up on the score sheet. He missed two wide open nets that maybe were due to "gripping the stick too tight" or just some rust that he needs to kick off. But if those two go in suddenly he has two goals in four games and everyone is talking differently about him.

The only negative thing that I can say about him so far is he seems to be losing a lot more faceoffs than he is winning which has been a surprise after reading that was one of his strengths.

Of his four games I have seen three in person and the other on a stream. I am just a fan and don't proclaim to be an evaluator of hockey talent but he looks fine to me for a 19 year old kid coming off an injury.

Thanks for the insight
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I agree with everything you said and let me add. To the Canuck's fans that are concerned that Bo Horvat has zero points after four games in Utica. He hasn't been getting top line minutes and I expected that would be the plan all along. He is coming off an injury and is down here on a conditioning assignment. I thought they would "ease him back in" with third or fourth line minutes and that is exactly what they are doing.

He hasn't looked one bit out of place and has made several subtle little plays that will never show up on the score sheet. He missed two wide open nets that maybe were due to "gripping the stick too tight" or just some rust that he needs to kick off. But if those two go in suddenly he has two goals in four games and everyone is talking differently about him.

The only negative thing that I can say about him so far is he seems to be losing a lot more faceoffs than he is winning which has been a surprise after reading that was one of his strengths.

Of his four games I have seen three in person and the other on a stream. I am just a fan and don't proclaim to be an evaluator of hockey talent but he looks fine to me for a 19 year old kid coming off an injury.

You seem to be the man when it comes to Utica.

Thanks!

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Well look at it this way then, O'Reilly leads the team on 9pts & is +1, BH ain't costing Utica goals which speaks to the defensive side of his game is up to scratch.(i know +- isn't the best stat but it gives some indication)

Well look at it this way then, Radim Vrbata leads the team in points (11) & is +1. Why? Because he scores a lot on the PP. O'Reilly could be the same. O'Reilly being +1 with 9 points while Horvat is +/-0 with 0 points doens't mean jack sh!t.

It doesn't make Bo's goose eggs look any more impressive because they are not. They are not noteworthy.

If he was like +3 or +4 with no points, maybe we say hey that's not bad. But zeros across the board? Naw.

And yes, you are absolutely correct: +/- is crap.

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I agree with everything you said and let me add. To the Canuck's fans that are concerned that Bo Horvat has zero points after four games in Utica. He hasn't been getting top line minutes and I expected that would be the plan all along. He is coming off an injury and is down here on a conditioning assignment. I thought they would "ease him back in" with third or fourth line minutes and that is exactly what they are doing.

He hasn't looked one bit out of place and has made several subtle little plays that will never show up on the score sheet. He missed two wide open nets that maybe were due to "gripping the stick too tight" or just some rust that he needs to kick off. But if those two go in suddenly he has two goals in four games and everyone is talking differently about him.

The only negative thing that I can say about him so far is he seems to be losing a lot more faceoffs than he is winning which has been a surprise after reading that was one of his strengths.

Of his four games I have seen three in person and the other on a stream. I am just a fan and don't proclaim to be an evaluator of hockey talent but he looks fine to me for a 19 year old kid coming off an injury.

I agree with alot of what you're saying but Horvat did play with Jensen last night, who is an Offensive player, but then again he did do everything right in his defensive zone. I just wish he would try a little more to get involved in the play. Too many times when he was on the ice, he wasn't actually on the screen.

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I agree with everything you said and let me add. To the Canuck's fans that are concerned that Bo Horvat has zero points after four games in Utica. He hasn't been getting top line minutes and I expected that would be the plan all along. He is coming off an injury and is down here on a conditioning assignment. I thought they would "ease him back in" with third or fourth line minutes and that is exactly what they are doing.

He hasn't looked one bit out of place and has made several subtle little plays that will never show up on the score sheet. He missed two wide open nets that maybe were due to "gripping the stick too tight" or just some rust that he needs to kick off. But if those two go in suddenly he has two goals in four games and everyone is talking differently about him.

The only negative thing that I can say about him so far is he seems to be losing a lot more faceoffs than he is winning which has been a surprise after reading that was one of his strengths.

Of his four games I have seen three in person and the other on a stream. I am just a fan and don't proclaim to be an evaluator of hockey talent but he looks fine to me for a 19 year old kid coming off an injury.

I have zero concerns about Horvat's future after watching him play in Utica. IMO, he's not NHL ready yet, but his circumstance is dictating his course at the moment

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As a general observation, how bloody nice it is that we've got a slew of strong, young C prospects. Bo, Vey, Gaunce, Cassels & McCann is quite the list!

The brass ring to grab will be Henrik's #1 slot, in 3~5 seasons. It's a good possibility these guys will push each other(chasing that opportunity), so that 1 or 2 will likely break through their projected ceilings. We should be good at C for a mighty long time.

Makes you wonder if we'll continue to draw attractive winger-UFA's like Vrbata. There should be a lot of reasons to sign in Van.

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Maybe when he plays with NHL caliber players he'll be able to play his game. He wouldn't be the first player to play as well as the players around him. I think Jensen is that type of player as well. He seems to be hanging back with Utica and doing everything he can to not make mistakes. He's doing that well and not costing the team anything negative when he's on the ice. With the Canucks he'll be in the bottom 6 and expected to play a defensive role, but he'll also need to step up and contribute offensively and that will be his true test. I think his performance in practice is going to determine whether he can crack the lineup or not. He'll bounce Matthias or Dorsett even though they are both playing wing and will bump Vey to the wing, if and only if he can show more than those two.

+

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Maybe when he plays with NHL caliber players he'll be able to play his game. He wouldn't be the first player to play as well as the players around him. I think Jensen is that type of player as well. He seems to be hanging back with Utica and doing everything he can to not make mistakes. He's doing that well and not costing the team anything negative when he's on the ice. With the Canucks he'll be in the bottom 6 and expected to play a defensive role, but he'll also need to step up and contribute offensively and that will be his true test. I think his performance in practice is going to determine whether he can crack the lineup or not. He'll bounce Matthias or Dorsett even though they are both playing wing and will bump Vey to the wing, if and only if he can show more than those two.

+

This is the greatest fallacy out there regarding young players: "They will play better if they are surrounded by more talented players." Well, DUH. Take any player in the world and put them next to Tanner Glass one night and Sidney Crosby the next - obviously any player would look better playing with better players.

Good players look good regardless of who their linemates are. Look at what Drouin did in the AHL without NHL-calibre players and look how he's doing in the NHL with NHL-calibre players: there's not much difference because he makes things happen and doesn't need to be carried. He didn't even complete his conditioning stint.

Arguing that a younger player will play better with better linemates is not only stating the obvious, it's claiming that they are weak and not ready to take on the full responsibility AKA be sheltered by veterans.

Bo should be able to play his game regardless of who his linemates are.

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This is the greatest fallacy out there regarding young players: "They will play better if they are surrounded by more talented players." Well, DUH. Take any player in the world and put them next to Tanner Glass one night and Sidney Crosby the next - obviously any player would look better playing with better players.

Good players look good regardless of who their linemates are. Look at what Drouin did in the AHL without NHL-calibre players and look how he's doing in the NHL with NHL-calibre players: there's not much difference because he makes things happen and doesn't need to be carried. He didn't even complete his conditioning stint.

Arguing that a younger player will play better with better linemates is not only stating the obvious, it's claiming that they are weak and not ready to take on the full responsibility AKA be sheltered by veterans.

Bo should be able to play his game regardless of who his linemates are.

What about the case of Corrado when he couldn't do one thing right playing with prospects but did fine in NHL training camp?

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I agree with everything you said and let me add. To the Canuck's fans that are concerned that Bo Horvat has zero points after four games in Utica. He hasn't been getting top line minutes and I expected that would be the plan all along. He is coming off an injury and is down here on a conditioning assignment. I thought they would "ease him back in" with third or fourth line minutes and that is exactly what they are doing.

He hasn't looked one bit out of place and has made several subtle little plays that will never show up on the score sheet. He missed two wide open nets that maybe were due to "gripping the stick too tight" or just some rust that he needs to kick off. But if those two go in suddenly he has two goals in four games and everyone is talking differently about him.

The only negative thing that I can say about him so far is he seems to be losing a lot more faceoffs than he is winning which has been a surprise after reading that was one of his strengths.

Of his four games I have seen three in person and the other on a stream. I am just a fan and don't proclaim to be an evaluator of hockey talent but he looks fine to me for a 19 year old kid coming off an injury.

This sounds like it could be shoulder issues still, maybe he is trying to get back to fast and not letting on that his shoulder is still sore or wonky.

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Well, Vey only got 11 min in TOI against Montreal. So looks like he is the prime candidate to sit if Willie wants to see what Horvat can do.

Fuck that. Vey's offense is needed. Wait till after the back to back to decide whom.

"Vey on the powerplay" x 3

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I agree with everything you said and let me add. To the Canuck's fans that are concerned that Bo Horvat has zero points after four games in Utica. He hasn't been getting top line minutes and I expected that would be the plan all along. He is coming off an injury and is down here on a conditioning assignment. I thought they would "ease him back in" with third or fourth line minutes and that is exactly what they are doing.

He hasn't looked one bit out of place and has made several subtle little plays that will never show up on the score sheet. He missed two wide open nets that maybe were due to "gripping the stick too tight" or just some rust that he needs to kick off. But if those two go in suddenly he has two goals in four games and everyone is talking differently about him.

The only negative thing that I can say about him so far is he seems to be losing a lot more faceoffs than he is winning which has been a surprise after reading that was one of his strengths.

Of his four games I have seen three in person and the other on a stream. I am just a fan and don't proclaim to be an evaluator of hockey talent but he looks fine to me for a 19 year old kid coming off an injury.

If that's the only issue then I'm not worried one bit, he's great in the dot, he seemed to win every faceoff he took in the Mem cup.

I think perhaps its just a matter of knocking off the rust & getting his timing back.

This is the greatest fallacy out there regarding young players: "They will play better if they are surrounded by more talented players." Well, DUH. Take any player in the world and put them next to Tanner Glass one night and Sidney Crosby the next - obviously any player would look better playing with better players.

Good players look good regardless of who their linemates are. Look at what Drouin did in the AHL without NHL-calibre players and look how he's doing in the NHL with NHL-calibre players: there's not much difference because he makes things happen and doesn't need to be carried. He didn't even complete his conditioning stint.

Arguing that a younger player will play better with better linemates is not only stating the obvious, it's claiming that they are weak and not ready to take on the full responsibility AKA be sheltered by veterans.

Bo should be able to play his game regardless of who his linemates are.

There is something to be said about the AHL vs NHL however.

The AHL is generally more scrambly, and the NHL is more structured. In terms of the flow of the game.

For a cerebral player like Horvat, his game might better suit the NHL than AHL, he looked like an NHL player in the pre-season especially with the way he forechecks & plays down low, which has been something all along with Horvat that has been quite understated IMO, its a huge asset for him as far as the NHL game goes.

Aside from not picking up points, the reviews on his play in the AHL seem solid, but that being said I'm going to reserve judgment for when he's back up here & playing with the big club, for Horvat that's when it matters the most, so we will have to see how he does.

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All the Canucks that started off slow are starting to pick up their games.

If we keep up this play and don't run into injuries then it will be tough to get him into the lineup. I have my doubts we can keep it up in this hectic month.

Big road trip coming up around the time Bo gets back into the lineup.

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