NHL News

Home

Teams

Quizzes

Newsletter

Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Top 50 Canucks players of all time: #26 – Bo Horvat

Originally posted on Canucksarmy | By Tyson Cole | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 2:27 PM ET

Join us this summer as we count down the top 50 Vancouver Canucks players of all time! #26: Bo Horvat

On the draft floor on June 30, 2013, the Canucks made a blockbuster trade, sending goaltender Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for the ninth overall pick. The Canucks didn’t know it at the time, but they drafted a future captain with that pick: Bo Horvat.

Horvat returned to London for his Draft+1 season before making his NHL debut the following season.

The newest Canuck made his debut on November 4, 2014, against the Colorado Avalanche, but would not pot his first NHL goal until November 20, against the Anaheim Ducks. It took Horvat a while to find his footing in the NHL, but in a stretch from January 30 to February 19, Horvat tallied nine points in 11 games. He went on to finish his rookie campaign with 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points in 68 games. His efforts this season earned him two fifth-place votes for the Calder Trophy.

In his second season, the young centreman took strides offensively, hitting the 40-point mark in a full 82-game season. However, he finished with a career-worst minus-30 rating, primarily due to the step back the Canucks took.

The 2016-2017 season was when Horvat started to blossom into a two-way centre. He became much more defensively sound, finishing with a respectable minus-seven rating despite the team finishing with a worse record and the same amount of goals against.

Horvat not only started to emerge as the next wave of Canucks hockey, but the league recognized him, as he was named to the 2017 NHL All-Star game – the youngest to do so since Trevor Linden.

A mid-season ankle fracture restricted Horvat to just 64 games in 2017-2018. However, the London, Ontario native still tallied a career-high 22 goals. But after this season, the Sedin twins retired, putting even more pressure on Horvat to step up and lead this rebuilding team. But the rise of Horvat only continued.

In his first season as a first-line centre, Horvat set new career highs in goals (27), assists (34) and points (61). With his ice time jumping up to over 20 minutes per game for the first time in his career, his shutdown ability and leadership began to show. And by the start of the 2019-2020 season, the Canucks named Horvat the 14th captain in franchise history.

Horvat’s leadership helped the Canucks reach the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season. In their first-round series against the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues, Horvat scored two clutch goals in the first two games of the series, including this miraculous shorthanded opening goal in Game 2.

Horvat would eventually score the overtime winning goal as well. The Canucks first-year captain had 12 points in the playoffs, leading the team with 10 postseason goals.

After the Canucks let Tyler Toffoli walk, and the lotto-line continued to gel together, Horvat was left without much help on his wings. However, he was still able to produce despite the lack of help. Over the following three seasons, Horvat found his scoring touch in the bumper spot on the power play.

Horvat became a 30-goal scorer in 2021-2022, and was on an even better pace in the 2022-2023 season when he had 31 goals in 49 games. However, the Canucks found themselves at the fork in the road when they had to decide whether to re-sign Horvat to the extension he was seeking after what was a career goal-scoring pace or move on from their captain.

Reports indicated that Horvat was looking for max term (eight years) and north of what the Canucks re-signed JT Miller for before the season started ($8 million average annual value). Given the position the Canucks were in –on the outside looking in of the playoff picture – the organization decided to trade their captain, sending him to the New York Islanders. In exchange, Vancouver received winger Anthony Beauvillier, centre prospect Aatu Räty, and a 2023 first-round pick. The Canucks used that first-round pick in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings to acquire Filip Hronek.

Horvat ranks 13th in games played (621), ninth in goals (201), 22nd in assists (219), and 13th in points (420) in Canucks history.

While traded in his prime, Horvat’s Canucks career will be remembered for his efforts and leadership during the dark days in Vancouver, which is something his teammates and fans will always appreciate. As he developed, Horvat became a defensively sound, faceoff specialist who found elite goal-scoring touch in his final few years in Vancouver.

Our previously ranked top 50 Canucks of all time:

#50 – Curt Fraser
#49 – Dave Babych
#48 – Martin Gelinas
#47 – Chris Oddleifson
#46 – Jannik Hansen
#45 – Ivan Boldirev
#44 – Gary Smith
#43 – Jacob Markstrom
#42 – Orland Kurtenbach
#41 – Harold Snepsts
#40 – Darcy Rota
#39 – Thatcher Demko
#38 – Geoff Courtnall
#37 – Dennis Ververgaert
#36 – Petri Skriko
#35 – Dan Hamhuis
#34 – Doug Lidster
#33 – Patrik Sundstrom
#32 – Brendan Morrison
#31 – Richard Brodeur
#30 – Sami Salo
#29 – André Boudrais
#28 – Kevin Bieksa
#27 – Don Lever