Jason Botchford: Horvat takes big strides to make Canucks forget about Schneider

[HOFsedins]

 

Quote

For anyone with ties to the Canucks, the what-ifs are both futile and inescapable. What if the Canucks had moved Schneider after the 2011 season? What if they had bought out Roberto Luongo and kept Schneider? And what if they had drafted Valeri Nichuskin instead of Bo Horvat in 2013?

As spectacularly earthmoving as Schneider-for-Horvat was, and is, the trade has historically been underwhelming in Vancouver, like a thrilling blockbuster devoid of the thrill part. A goalie with elite, superstar potential was traded for a draft pick subsequently used on a “middle-six forward with skating issues” and a city sighed, “just great.”

We’ve talked about this as a family, and it’s what my dad said, ‘You’ll always be known as the player who was traded for Cory Schneider, it will always be with you. It couldn’t just be a normal draft, you had to get traded for one of the best goalies in the NHL,'” Horvat said.

But — and this is the greatest what-if of them all — what if the trade is what made Horvat? What if his millstone ends up his blessing, something that is driving him to prove people wrong?

Because no one expected this Horvat, not the one who is 21st in the NHL in even-strength goals-per-hour played, while leading the Canucks in both goals (eight) and points (16) and doing it at 21 years old.

Continued at http://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/horvat-takes-big-strides-to-make-canucks-forget-about-schneider

[Davathor]

Who?

[timmylu1]

Yea but then I watch a NJ game and it's like.. oh that still hurts. 

[Odd.]

2 minutes ago, timmylu1 said:

Yea but then I watch a NJ game and it's like.. oh that still hurts. 

Well tomorrow he's gonna score 3 goals against Schneider

[Beeekz37]

Horvat will be a beast for us. I hope he turns into that 1c we need, but I will be just as happy with him as our 2c.

[Fateless]

The trade was excellent in my opinion. At what point since Schneider was traded has goaltending been the reason the Canucks have failed to ice a good team? Never. Whether we have Luongo, Schneider, Miller or Markstrom in net, this team was going to go downhill as we rebuilt our aging core. Schneider would age during our transition period and would be past his peak by the time we are ready to compete again.

 

While Schneider is obviously a better goalie than the two currently playing for the Canucks, he wouldn't have been a difference maker and with Demko in the long-term plans of this teams future - trading for Horvat was the best move Gillis ever made.

[apollo]

Kinkaid is the better goalie in New Jersey anyways... 

 

In before I get attacked :D 

 

 

[theilluminati]

Cue the droves of fanboys that normally hate Botchford and every article he writes and say how bias he is etc. They will all be saying this is such a well written piece, bang on etc.

[Phil_314]

Loving his bullish drives to the net.  Very Toews-like if you will.

Had we kept Lu I think this team would've been in even better shape in net as he's an easy upgrade on Miller, but then again I'm glad that we have Marky Mark for the future too, so losing Corey for "only Bo" feels more and more justifiable by the day (especially now that he's leading the team in points and making such literal strides as he powers his way to the opponent's net).  All in all, excited to see just how high his career can go-- of course it'd be great to have a more pure point-scoring center but he'll be an excellent #1B center at worst. 

[khay]

Interestingly enough, Schneider has never cracked the 30 wins mark in a season.

 

Horvat may crack 30 goals this season if he can get to about 15 goals by the half point mark of the season. Since he normally performs better in the second half, I think he has a shot at reaching 30 goals.

 

Ideally, I would like us to have both of these players. If Luongo's contract was more manageable, then maybe we could have gotten a first round pick in the vicinity of the 9th overall to draft Horvat and still keep Schneider.

 

We went from Luongo-Schneider to Markstrom-Horvat... which isn't too bad but we lost two elite goalies for potentially solid goalie and a worst case 2nd line center. 

 

[NEON.KNEE]

Can;t stand the way Botchford writes... Even this fluff piece angers me.  He should just go away and write about a different team already.  

[oldnews]

Devoid of the thrill.

What if.

What if.

What if Botchford weren't a hack?

 

Surprise - Horvat is a really good hockey player.  Whodathunkit?

 

 

 

[Warhippy]

Continued here...

 

Ya bud no.  If you're not going to post the whole article, don't post any of it.  Click bait half postings for Botchford is just plain lazy

[Zhukini]

31 minutes ago, theilluminati said:

Cue the droves of fanboys that normally hate Botchford and every article he writes and say how bias he is etc. They will all be saying this is such a well written piece, bang on etc.

Botchford is fine when he isn't trying to Cater to the Provies reading crowd.

[combover]

Sometimes trades work out for both teams. Weird, someone should write a newspaper article about it. 

[VegasCanuck]

Really, incredibly happy to have Horvat on our team and I fully expect him to be the next captain when Henrik retires.

 

At the time this trade happened, we sent a budding #1 goalie who was looking like he could easily trend into Elite territory for a top 10 pick in the draft, a complete unknown who was a total gamble.

 

At the very least, this the Canucks should have gotten at least an additional pick, 2nd or 3rd either same year or the next. This is not a prospect that the Canucks had a shortage of options to move, half the teams in the league would have made a deal for him. The only real guaranteed NHL player in that deal was Schneider.

 

I love watching Horvat develop, but that trade was not a good deal at the time for Gillis.

[189lb enforcers?]

Spot picker Botch, at it again. Its great that Bo is awesome, now. It sure is, Botch.

I think Horvat is a stud, but I'm not about to forget that we had CS entering his prime and trading him for a draft pick. Between the trade and now is what I remember.

Battling for last place while Lu and CS were in an all-star game, while Bo was patrolling the worst +/- was the in between part that we are to forget, I guess.

I just don't like this guy.

 

 

[oldnews]

2 hours ago, VegasCanuck said:

Really, incredibly happy to have Horvat on our team and I fully expect him to be the next captain when Henrik retires.

 

At the time this trade happened, we sent a budding #1 goalie who was looking like he could easily trend into Elite territory for a top 10 pick in the draft, a complete unknown who was a total gamble.

 

At the very least, this the Canucks should have gotten at least an additional pick, 2nd or 3rd either same year or the next. This is not a prospect that the Canucks had a shortage of options to move, half the teams in the league would have made a deal for him. The only real guaranteed NHL player in that deal was Schneider.

 

I love watching Horvat develop, but that trade was not a good deal at the time for Gillis.

not really.

don't know anyone that considered him a 'total gamble'.  or an "unknown" top 10 pick.

the general consensus was that he was a 'can't miss pick'.

 

-one team had him a 4th overall.

- huge upside.  16 playoff goals in his draft year.

-Ryan O'Reilly, Patrice Bergeron

etc.

 

 

[Fanuck]

Now if we could all just forget about Botchford. 

[VegasCanuck]

2 minutes ago, oldnews said:

not really.

don't know anyone that considered him a 'total gamble'.

the general consensus was that he was a 'can't miss pick'.

 

 

So was Nail Yakupov. There is no such thing as a "Can't Miss Pick". You do the best you can looking at the maturity of a kid and you hope that you get it right, but there is no such thing as can't miss unless its McDavid.

 

It was a risky return for a guy who was showing that he was ready to be a #1 goalie, and I think most would still agree with me, no matter how well Horvat is turning out.