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Horvat Blog - "Dad, They knew my name.."


Bur14Kes17

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Never in a million years did I ever think I'd be here and I can now not only say I've been an all-star, I scored a goal in an all-star game. Two actually!

We won our first game 10-3 over Team Central, but came up short in the championship against Team Metropolitan, losing 4-3. I was an honour being part of Team Pacific and a neat experience playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Cam Fowler. You could say we had some success, I don't even know how many goals Johnny ended up with, maybe four or five, and Cam was picking up assists left and right.

I scored and had two assists in the first game and scored in the second game, so I'm proud of my showing. Both my goals were set up by Cam and Johnny. My first one I got in the one breakaway and wanted to get it over Devan Dubnyk's shoulder as quick as possible. I kind of just flicked it at the last moment, it's a move I've never tried before and might become my go-to! Second goal, same thing, I wanted to get it off as quick as I could because I knew someone would be closing in on me. Johnny has such great vision and speed and Cam has great hands; they were very fun to play with.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 29: Bo Horvat #53 of the Vancouver Canucks scores past Devan Dubnyk #40 of the Minnesota Wild during the Central Division and Pacific Division match-up of the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game at Staples Center on January 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

The first game was all laughs, a lot of fun and games, whereas the second game took on a more serious tone. It gets pretty serious when there's money on the line! It's in our nature, we're all pretty competitive and we all want to do well and win and that definitely showed there in the final game. I hope everyone enjoyed the action.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 29: (Fifth from L-R, Back Row) Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers, Brent Burns #88 of the San Jose Sharks, Joe Pavelski #8 of the San Jose Sharks, Johnny Gaudreau #13 of the Calgary Flames, Drew Doughty #8 of the Los Angeles Kings, coach Peter DeBoer (fifth from right), (left to right, front row) Mike Smith #41 of the Arizona Coyotes, Jeff Carter #77 of the Los Angeles Kings, Cam Fowler #4 of the Anaheim Ducks, Bo Horvat #53 of the Vancouver Canucks, Ryan Kesler #17 of the Anaheim Ducks and Martin Jones #31 of the San Jose Sharks of the Pacific Division All-Star team pose for a group photo prior to the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game at Staples Center on January 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NHLI via Getty Images)

Two major highlights of my day were the incredible pre-game ceremony and meeting Wayne Gretzky. For the ceremonial puck drop most of the top 100 players in NHL history were lined up and as we were introduced, we skated down and gave them all fist bumps. I was lined up across from Steve Yzerman, which was a thrill. Before we came out onto the ice Burnsy turned to me and said "Do you know how many legends are on that carpet right now!" I looked down and couldn't believe it.

I also couldn't believe it when I walked into the dressing room lounge between games and Wayne Gretzky was standing there. I knew it was my chance to meet him, so I got my phone and Connor McDavid actually took the picture for me. I was really excited. I asked him how he was doing, that's the first thing that came to mind! I told him my dad was at the game where he set up Lemieux for that goal with Team Canada, I'm not sure what year it was and he talked about that a bit. To hear old stories from The Great One was great.

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I was asked post-game what I'll take from this all-star experience and honestly, I soaked everything up. Being on the same ice as a lot of the best players in the league and talking with some of the players that you normally might not get to meet was incredible. But I think the biggest thing, I was telling my dad this earlier, was that I didn't have to introduce myself, everyone knew my name. To have all the greatest players in the world know your name already and know who you are is pretty incredible.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my all-star experience and I'll enjoy LA for another day before returning to Vancouver and shifting gears back to our playoff push.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 29: Bo Horvat #53 of the Vancouver Canucks looks on during the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game Semifinal #1 (Central vs. Pacific) at Staples Center on January 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Thank you for reading and for all the continuous support!

All the best,

Bo

 

 

Man I got so excited reading this from Bo. You can actually hear the admiration in his words that he had for all of the other players around him. Just being around all those players is going to do wonders for Horvats confidence on and off the ice, but I think the moment that changed everything for Bo was when it sunk in an dhe realized, "They know my name.. They all know who I am.."

Horvats flown under the radar for so long and after starting the season on the 4th line, i don't think he has any clue what he's capable of. I think this has changed that. The NHL knows the name Horvat, and now, Bo knows that too.. I can't wait for the post all star break to see what he's going to do next.

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One the biggest aspects that I respect most in Bo is his humility and humbleness.

 

He isn't just a good example for future hockey players but for people in general.  Kid has maturity and level of respect beyond what you would expect in a 21 year old professional.  It's such a treat to watch him and know that he represents us.

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So sad to think Cody could've/should've had this moment.

 

Instead, he didn't want to pay his dues - oh well, he got his fat contract/buyout.

 

Still, it would've been nice to have these two has a one-two combination to take over once the twins are retired.

 

Horvat - future captain of the Canucks....

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